Employee Leave Laws Overview

Transcription

1 Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. Select a state below to view state specific laws regarding the different types of employee leaves. Alabama Idaho Missouri Pennsylvania Alaska Illinois Montana Rhode Island Arizona Indiana Nebraska South Carolina Arkansas Iowa Nevada South Dakota California Kansas New Hampshire Tennessee Colorado Kentucky New Jersey Texas Connecticut Louisiana New Mexico Utah Delaware Maine New York Vermont District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. Rev. 3/17

2 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Alabama has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Voting leave; and Military leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Alabama s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers must provide employees summoned for jury duty with paid time off in order to serve as jurors. Employees are required to provide their employers with their jury summons the next working day after the employees receive them. An employer may not require an employee to use annual, vacation, unpaid leave, or sick leave for time spent serving as a juror. The employer may be able to deduct wages the employee received for serving as a juror from the employee s compensation. An employer may not discharge or subject an employee to any adverse employment action due to serving as a juror, provided the employee returns to work following dismissal from jury duty. Voting Leave Military Leave Employees who are registered to vote must be permitted to take necessary time off from work, up to one hour, to vote in any municipal, county, state or federal primary or general election. Employees must provide reasonable notice to their employers if they require time off to vote. The employer may specify the hours of leave. However, if an employee s work schedule begins at least two hours after the polls open, or ends at least one hour prior to the polls closing, the employee is not eligible for voting leave. In addition to the federal law USERRA, Alabama law provides military members with paid leave for days they are engaged in the field, coast defense or other training or service ordered under federal laws governing the U.S. Reserves. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. An employer is required to pay no more than 168 hours per calendar year to an employee called into active state service. Upon return from leave, the employee may not suffer loss of time, efficiency rating, annual leave or sick leave Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. Rev. 3/17

3 Employee Leave Laws-Overview SPECIAL NOTE Alabama law requires private employers to pay employees for military leave. However, the Supreme Court of Alabama has held that the statute violates the Alabama Constitution (White v. Associated Industries of Alabama). Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous local ordinances have been enacted across the country mandating employers to provide employees with paid sick leave. An employer located in a city or county with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Alabama employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate federal or state leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

4 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Alaska has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Voting leave; and Military leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Alaska s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for Alaska employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave Voting Leave Military Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers must grant employees unpaid leave for jury duty. An employer cannot terminate, threaten, coerce or penalize an employee who responds to a jury summons, serves as a juror or attends court for prospective jury service. Employers must grant employees paid leave to vote in a state election, unless the employee has two consecutive hours of nonworking time, either between the opening of the polls and the start of his or her shift, or between the close of the polls and the end of his or her shift. In addition to USERRA, Alaska law provides the following employment protections to members of the organized state militia (which consists of the Alaska National Guard, Alaska Naval Militia and Alaska State Defense Force): Unlimited unpaid leave for members of the organized state militia when called to active state service; Reinstatement to their former positions (or comparable positions of similar pay, seniority and benefit level) upon release from active state service (or discharge due to hospitalization that arose from active service); and This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. Employees who sustain disabilities due to active service and are no longer qualified for their previous positions are entitled to comparable positions, provided that employees request reemployment within 30 days of being released to full-time work by physicians. Employers cannot discriminate against members of the state National Guard or naval militia in employment based on their memberships Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. Rev. 6/17

5 Employee Leave Laws Overview COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Alaska employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate federal or state leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

6 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Arizona has employee leave laws regarding: Jury Duty; Voting leave; Victims leave; National Guard leave; and Earned paid sick time (effective July 1, 2017). This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Arizona s employee leave laws, and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty REQUIREMENTS Employers must allow employees to take unpaid leave if called to serve as grand or trial jurors. An employer may not require an employee to use vacation or sick leave for any absence related to jury service. An employer may not discharge or demote an employee due to the employee taking leave to serve as a juror. Voting Leave Employers must provide employees with up to three hours of paid leave to vote in a primary or general election, unless they have at least three hours before or after work to do so. Employees must apply for leave prior to election day. Employers may designate the hours that employees may be absent. Victims Leave Employers with 50 or more employees must allow unpaid leave to employees who are crime victims. Leave may be taken to attend a criminal proceeding or to obtain an order of protection, so long as the employee provides his or her employer with proper documentation. Employees may choose, or employers may require, use of available accrued paid leave. Employers may not dismiss, demote, refuse to hire or employ, or discriminate against employees for taking victims leave. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 1/17; Rev. 3/17

7 Employee Leave Laws-Overview National Guard Leave In addition to the federal USERRA, Arizona law provides unpaid leave for National Guard and U.S. military members when called to active duty or to attend training. Employees must: Be reinstated to their previous positions or to higher positions without losing seniority upon return from leave; and Retain vacation rights (however, employers do not have to consider the period of leave when determining eligibility for vacation and the amount of vacation employees are entitled to). Employers cannot discharge members of the National Guard or prevent or obstruct employment. Effective July 1, 2017, Arizona employers must provide earned paid sick time to employees. In general, employees must accrue at least one hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. However, employees accrual of paid sick time is limited as follows: Employers with 15 or more employees may cap employee sick time accruals to 40 hours per year. Employers with fewer than 15 employees may cap employee sick time accruals to 24 hours per year. Employees must be able to use accrued paid sick time for any of the following reasons: An employee s (or an employee s family member s) mental or physical illness, injury or health condition, including the need for medical diagnosis, care or treatment and preventive medical care; Earned Paid Sick Time Closure of the employee s place of business by order of a public official due to a public health emergency or an employee s need to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency; Time off due to domestic violence, sexual violence, abuse or stalking to allow the employee (or a family member) to obtain medical attention, counseling, services from domestic violence program or to relocate. An employer may require new employees to wait 90 days after hire prior to using any accrued paid sick time (accrual begins upon hire). An employer may require reasonable documentation to verify that paid sick time was used for a permitted reason when an employee is absent for three or more consecutive days. Employers must notify current employees of the paid sick leave requirements by July 1, 2017, and must notify new employees when they are hired. In addition, employers must provide information about an employee s earned paid sick time at each pay period, either on the employee s paycheck or in an attachment to the paycheck. SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a city with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. 2

8 Employee Leave Laws-Overview COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Arizona employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 3

9 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Law-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Arkansas has employee leave laws regarding: Voting leave; Jury duty leave; Military leave; Victim leave; Adoptive parent leave; Bone marrow and organ donation leave; and Public service leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Arkansas employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Voting Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers must schedule employee work hours on election day in a way that will allow employees the opportunity to vote. Employers are not required to pay employees for voting leave. Jury Duty Leave An employee may not be discharged, lose sick leave or vacation time or suffer any other form of penalty due to absence for jury duty. An employer is not required to pay an employee for jury duty leave. Military Leave In addition to the federal USERRA, Arkansas law provides similar job protections to members of the state armed forces, including the National Guard, a reserve component of the armed forces or militia. Employers must grant unpaid leave to state military members when called to active duty in the state as though they had been called to U.S. active duty. An employee must be reinstated to his or her original position upon being released from duty. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. Rev. 6/17 Victim Leave An employer may not discharge or discipline a victim (or his or her representative) of any violent crime due to his or her: Participation at the prosecuting attorney s request in preparation for a criminal proceeding; or Attendance at a criminal proceeding, if reasonably necessary to protect the interests of the victim.

10 Employee Leave Law-Overview Adoptive Parent Leave An employer who provides paternity or maternity leave to biological parents must allow paternity or maternity leave for adoptive parents upon placement of an adoptive child, if requested. An employer must grant leave to adoptive parents under the same policies and procedures established for biological parents after the birth of a child, including any benefits provided by the employer. This does not apply to an adoption of a person over 18 years of age by the spouse of a custodial parent, or an adoption of a foster child by the child s foster parents. Bone Marrow or Organ Donation Leave Public Service Leave An employer must grant a leave of absence to an employee in order to serve as an organ or bone marrow donor, if requested by the employee in writing. Any leave granted is in addition to any medical, personal or other paid leave provided by the employer. Leave must be provided for up to 90 days, unless an employer agrees to a leave for longer than 90 days. Leave may be paid or unpaid, at the employer s discretion. If the employer pays the employee s regular salary or wages during the leave, the employer is entitled to a tax credit of 25 percent of the regular salary or wages paid to the employee while on leave for bone marrow or organ donation. While an employer may grant leave for a period of longer than 90 days, only the wages or salary paid during the first 90 days of the leave are eligible for credit. The credit must be taken within one year of the date the leave began. This leave is not required if the employee is eligible for leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). An employer must grant a leave of absence to an employee who is elected to a public office in Arkansas or appointed to a board or commission by the governor. The leave period must be the period of time the employee requests, up to the duration of the term of office. An employee who takes public service leave may not lose seniority rights. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Arkansas employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

11 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Law - Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with job-protected leave in certain situations. In addition, California has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty, witness and crime victim leave; Voting leave; Domestic violence and sexual assault victim leave; Military and military spouse leave; School activity leave; Rehabilitation leave; Volunteer firefighter and reserve police leave; Civil air patrol leave; Organ and bone marrow donor leave; Pregnancy disability leave; Family sick leave; Family and medical leave; and Paid sick leave. The following chart provides a high-level overview of California s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers in the state. OVERVIEW OF CALIFORNIA EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty, Witness and Crime Victim Leave REQUIREMENTS All employers are prohibited from discharging or in any way discriminating against employees who take time off from work to serve on a jury, comply with a valid subpoena or attend judicial proceedings related to a felony crime. Notice requirements apply. Leave is unpaid. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. CMP 9/16 Voting Leave All employers must allow employees who do not have sufficient time outside of working hours to vote in a statewide election to, on an election day, take enough time off from work in order to vote. Employers must pay employees for up to 2 hours of leave for voting purposes. Notice requirements apply.

12 Employee Leave Law - Overview All employers must grant leave to employees who are victims of domestic violence or sexual assault so that they may obtain any relief to help ensure the health, safety or welfare of either themselves or their children. Employers with at least 25 employees must grant leave, up to the amount of FMLA leave available, to employees who are victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, so that they can: Seek medical attention for related injuries; Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Victim Leave Obtain services from a domestic violence shelter, program or rape crisis center; Obtain psychological counseling; or Participate in safety planning and take other actions to increase their safety. These leave protections apply equally to men and women. Leave is unpaid. Employer notice requirements upon hire and upon request apply. Employee notice and certification requirements apply. Employers are not required to provide leave over or in addition to FMLA leave, but may require an employee to use vacation, personal leave or compensatory time off that is otherwise available to him or her, unless a collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise. In addition to federal law, California law provides employment protections for California and U.S. military members. All employers must provide temporary unpaid leave to military members for periods of military duty, as follows: o Up to 17 days per year for U.S. Reserve members. Military and Military Spouse Leave o Up to 15 days per year for State Military Reserve members. Employers with 25 or more employees must provide up to 10 days of unpaid leave to eligible spouses of military service members when their spouses are on leave from deployment. Notice and certification requirements apply. Effective Jan. 1, 2016, all employers must reemploy National Guard members of any state following a period of state military service. Employers with 25 or more employees must provide employees with up to 40 hours of leave per year to attend or otherwise be involved with their child s school or day care facility. Notice and certification requirements apply. School Activity Leave Effective Jan. 1, 2016, the school activity leave law is amended to specifically allow a parent to take time off from work (up to the 40-hour maximum) for the following child-related activities: To find, enroll or reenroll his or her child in a school or with a licensed childcare provider, or to participate in activities of the school or childcare provider, up to 8 hours per month; or To address a school emergency or childcare provider emergency (including a situation where a child cannot stay at school or with a childcare provider due to behavioral or discipline problems). 2

13 Employee Leave Law - Overview In addition, the amended law defines a parent as a parent, guardian, stepparent, foster parent, or a grandparent of, or a person who stands in loco parentis to, a child. Thus, the amended law extends leave protections to nontraditional family relationships. Finally, all employers must permit employees to take time off from work to appear at their child s school after the child has been suspended. Notice requirements apply. Rehabilitation Leave Volunteer Firefighter and Reserve Police Leave Employers with 25 or more employees must reasonably accommodate any employee who wishes to voluntarily enter and participate in an alcohol or drug rehabilitation program, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer. All employers must permit an employee who is a volunteer firefighter, reserve peace officer or emergency rescue personnel to be absent from or late for work to perform emergency duty. Employers with 50 or more employees must permit an employee who is a volunteer firefighter to take up to 14 days per year off from work to engage in fire or law enforcement training. Employers with more than 15 employees must provide employees who are Civil Air Patrol (CAP) members with leave to respond to an emergency operational mission of the California Wing of the CAP. An employee is eligible for CAP leave if he or she: Civil Air Patrol Leave Has been employed for at least 90 days before beginning leave; Is a volunteer member of the California Wing of the CAP; and Is responding to an emergency operational mission of the California Wing of the CAP. An employer may not require an employee to exhaust any other type of leave before providing CAP leave. Notice and certification requirements apply. Leave is unpaid. Employers with 15 or more employees must provide employees who are organ or bone marrow donors with: Up to 30 business days of leave per year to donate an organ; and Organ and Bone Marrow Donor Leave Up to five business days of leave per year to donate bone marrow. Leave must be paid. Notice and certification requirements apply. Leave may not run concurrently with FMLA or California disability leave, but an employer may require employees to take accrued sick leave, paid time off or vacation leave for organ or bone marrow donation. Employers with five or more employees must provide a reasonable period of leave of up to 4 months per pregnancy to female employees who are disabled by pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition. Pregnancy Disability Leave Leave runs concurrently with FMLA leave. Notice and certification requirements apply. Leave is unpaid. Other job protections also apply to employees taking pregnancy disability 3

14 Employee Leave Law - Overview leave. All employers who provide paid sick leave for employees must permit employees to use their accrued sick leave to care for an ill child, parent, spouse or domestic partner of the employee. Leave is limited each year by the amount of sick leave the employee would accrue in six months. Family Sick Leave Leave runs concurrently with leave under the California Family Rights Act and the FMLA. Effective Jan. 1, 2016, the definition of family member is expanded to include child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, stepparent, parent-inlaw, grandparent, grandchild or sibling. In addition, an employee must be permitted to use family sick leave for the same purposes as required under the paid sick leave law, including for the preventive care of a family member. A San Francisco ordinance requires employers to provide paid sick leave to all employees, including temporary and part-time employees. Under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), employers with 50 or more employees must provide eligible employees with family and medical leave. To be eligible for family and medical leave, an employee must: Have more than 12 months of service with the employer (effective July 1, 2015, the 12-month service requirement is relaxed so that employees must have at least a total of 12 months of service with the employer); Have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12-month period prior to the date of the requested leave; and Family and Medical Leave Be employed at a worksite with 50 or more employees within 75 miles of the employee's work site. Eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of CFRA leave in a 12-month period for: Childbirth; Adoption; or Caring for the serious health condition of the employee or of the employee s child, parent, spouse or registered domestic partner. Leave runs concurrently with FMLA leave. Notice and certification requirements apply. Leave is unpaid. Other job protections also apply to employees taking family and medical leave. Paid Sick Leave Effective July 1, 2015, employers with one or more employees must provide eligible employees with 24 hours (or three workdays) of paid sick leave per year. Employees may use this leave for: Preventative care; or Diagnosis care or treatment of an existing health condition of the 4

15 Employee Leave Law - Overview employee or family member. Employers are also required to provide paid sick leave to employees who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. To be eligible for paid sick leave, an employee must work in California for 30 or more days for the same employer within a year from the start of their employment. Eligible employees may use accrued sick days beginning on their 90th day of employment. SPECIAL NOTE: California has a paid family leave insurance program that provides up to 6 weeks of wage replacement benefits to eligible employees who take time off from work to care for a newborn, a newly adopted child or foster child, or a seriously ill family member. Under this program, employees may receive a percentage of their wages during their absence, up to a certain maximum per week. Workers who contribute to the State Disability Insurance (SDI) fund are eligible for the program. The program is separate from the federal FMLA and California s family and medical leave laws, which govern the terms of employee family and medical leaves. In addition, San Francisco enacted a Paid Parental Leave Ordinance, which requires employers in that city to provide supplemental compensation to employees who receive wage replacement under California s paid family leave insurance program. Employers subject to this ordinance must pay employees the difference between their normal gross weekly wage and the weekly amount they receive from the SDI, so that they receive 100 percent of their regular wages (rather than a lower percentage). More information on the SDI is available on the California Employment Development Department s website. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for California employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 5

16 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Colorado has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty and court attendance leave; Military leave; Voting leave; Victim protection leave; Civil air patrol leave; Disaster volunteer service leave; Volunteer firefighter leave; Adoptive parents leave; and Family and medical leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Colorado s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty and Court Attendance Leave REQUIREMENTS An employer must allow an employee to take leave to attend a judicial proceeding in response to a summons for jury duty. Regularly employed individuals must be paid their regular wages, up to $50 per day, for the first three days of juror service. An employer may choose to pay more. Any part-time or temporary worker who worked for the same employer for three months or more is considered to be regularly employed. An employee is not entitled to compensation for time spent: Serving as a witness in a case; Responding to a subpoena; or Acting as a plaintiff or defendant in the courts. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 1/16; Rev. 7/17

17 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Military Leave In addition to USERRA, Colorado law provides reinstatement rights for state and U.S. military service members. Employees who are called to active service must be granted unlimited unpaid time off and reinstated to their former positions with all pay, seniority and benefits they would have had if they had been continuously employed. Additionally, Colorado provides up to 15 days of unpaid leave per year to members of the National Guard or the U.S. armed forces in order to attend military training. These members also have reinstatement rights to their former positions as long as they are still qualified for the positions. Employees must provide documentation of satisfactory completion of their training. Voting Leave Victim Protection Leave Employers must allow employees who are qualified and registered to vote up to two paid hours of work time to vote in any primary or general election. Employees must apply for leave prior to election day. The employer may specify the hours during which the employee may be absent. However, if the employee requests that the time away from work be at the beginning or end of the work shift, the employer must grant this request. An employer is not required to grant voting leave to any employee who has three or more hours off from work while the polls are open on election day. Colorado employers with 50 or more employees must allow up to three working days of leave in any 12-month period, with or without pay, to employees who are victims of domestic abuse, stalking, sexual assault or any other crime related to domestic abuse. An employee is eligible for victim protection leave if he or she been employed by the employer for 12 months or more and is a victim of: Domestic abuse; Stalking; Sexual assault; or Any other crime found by a court to include an act of domestic violence. Leave may be taken to seek a civil protection order to prevent domestic abuse, obtain medical care or mental health counseling (for him- or herself and/or his or her children), make his or her home secure from the perpetrator and seek legal assistance to address issues arising from the act of domestic abuse, stalking, sexual assault or any other crime involving domestic violence. Employers may require employees seeking leave to first exhaust any vacation, personal and sick leave. Employers may also require advance notice and documentation from employees for leave, except in cases of imminent danger to the health or safety of the employees. Civil Air Patrol Mission Leave Non-temporary employees who are members of the Civil Air Patrol, Colorado Wing, and who are called to active duty, are entitled to up to 15 days of leave per calendar year to engage in missions. Employees must be reinstated to their positions with the same seniority, status, leave time and other benefits as they would have if leave was not taken. An employee must provide his or her employer with documentation of the satisfactory completion of the Civil Air Patrol service. Any leave taken runs concurrently with, and not in addition to, any paid leave of absence required by law for relief service in a disaster or qualified volunteer service in a disaster. 2

18 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Qualified Volunteer Service in a Disaster Leave Volunteer Firefighter Leave Employers must provide unpaid leave of up to 15 days per calendar year to employees who are qualified volunteers called into service by volunteer organizations for a disaster. An employee must provide proof of being a qualified volunteer, and he or she is eligible for leave only if called into service for a disaster. Employers must reinstate employees to the same positions with the same pay, rights to vacation, sick leave, bonus, advancement and other employment benefits they would have had if they had not taken leave to volunteer in a disaster. Employers are not required to provide leave to more than 20 percent of its employees on any work day or to any employee designated as an essential employee. An employer is prohibited from terminating any employee who fails to report to work or leaves work due to service as a volunteer firefighter responding to an emergency within the employee s fire department response area. An eligible employee must present his or her employer with documentation from the fire chief of the employee s volunteer firefighter status prior to taking any leave. An employee must be allowed to leave work to respond to an emergency if: The employer does not consider the employee to be essential to daily operations; and The emergency is of a magnitude that requires all firefighters to respond. The employee must provide the employer with the applicable fire department chief s documentation of the time, date and duration of the employee s response. Leave time is unpaid. Unless otherwise agreed, a volunteer firefighter s leave may not exceed 15 days per calendar year. Adoptive Parents Leave Colorado Family Care Act (FCA) Any employer that provides maternity or paternity leave for biological parents following the birth of a child must allow the same leave for individuals adopting a child, if requested. Any other benefits provided by the employer, such as job guarantee or pay, must be available on an equal basis to biological and adoptive parents. These requirements do not apply to step-parent adoptions. Employers covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) with 50 or more employees must grant employees the expanded protections provided under the Colorado Family Care Act (FCA) regarding leave to care for partners with serious health conditions, where they have civil unions or domestic partnerships. An employee is eligible for leave under the FCA if he or she is eligible for leave under the FMLA and is either: In a civil union under Colorado law; In a domestic partnership that is registered in the municipality in which the person resides or with the state; or In a domestic partnership recognized by the employee s employer. The domestic partner may be of the same or different sex. An eligible employee may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period to care for a civil union or domestic partner with a serious health condition. The FCA definition of a serious health condition is the same as the definition under the FMLA. 3

19 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may require reasonable documentation of the civil union or domestic partnership (such as a written statement). In addition, employers can require the same health care provider certification it requires under the FMLA. Leave taken under the FCA must run concurrently with the FMLA. However, if an employee takes leave under the FCA to care for his or her domestic partner (or civil union partner), this time cannot count against the employee s federal FMLA leave entitlement (as the care is for a person in a relationship not covered by the FMLA). If leave is first taken for a qualifying reason under the federal FMLA, that time is counted toward the FCA entitlement as well. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Colorado employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 4

20 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Connecticut has employee leave laws regarding: Military and National Guard leave; Jury duty leave; Family and medical leave; Witness and victim leave; Victims of family violence leave; Paid sick leave; Pregnancy leave; Volunteer firefighter and ambulance service member leave; and Elected official leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Connecticut s employee leave laws, and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Military and National Guard Leave Jury Duty Leave REQUIREMENTS In addition to the federal USERRA, Connecticut employers must allow employees who are members of the U.S. armed forces or the National Guard to take unpaid leave in order to perform military duty, including attending meetings or drills. Employees who take leave for these reasons may not lose vacation or holiday benefits or be unfairly discriminated against with respect to promotion, continued employment, reemployment or reappointment. An employer is prohibited from discharging, threatening or coercing an employee who receives a jury summons, responds to the summons or serves as a juror. Employees are entitled to leave from work for the duration of jury service. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. Full-time employees (those working at least 30 hours per week in a non-temporary capacity) must be paid their regular wages for the first five days of jury service, unless the employees would not have accrued regular wages or would not have worked more than a half shift that extends into another day. An employer may not require an employee who has served eight hours of jury duty in one day to work in excess of those eight hours Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AMS 4/17

21 Employee Leave Laws Overview Connecticut Family and Medical Leave (CTFMLA) Employers with 75 or more employees must provide eligible employees with family and medical leave. To be eligible for leave, an employee must have been employed for 12 months and completed 1,000 hours of work in the 12 months prior to the leave. An eligible employee may take up to 16 workweeks of leave during any 24-month period for one or more of the following reasons: The birth or adoption of the employee s child; The placement of a foster child with the employee; Care for the spouse, son, daughter or parent of the employee with a serious health condition; An employee s own serious health condition; An organ or bone marrow donation; or Any qualifying exigency when the employee s spouse, child or parent is on active duty or is notified of an impending call or order to active duty in the Armed Forces. Additionally, an employee may be entitled to a one-time benefit of 26 weeks of leave during a 12-month period to care for the employee s spouse, child, parent or next of kin who is a current member of the armed forces and is undergoing medical treatment due to a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty. Leave is unpaid. Employees may choose, or employers may require, substitution of any paid vacation or personal or family leave available to employees. An employee must provide advance notice to his or her employer for leave due to the birth or adoption of a child and for planned medical treatments. An employer may require medical certification to support the employee s requested leave based on a serious health condition. Intermittent leave is available only when medically necessary and only for specific leave types, unless the employer agrees otherwise. Job protections apply to employees taking family and medical leave. Employers with 50 or more employees are also subject to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). When an employee leave is covered by just one law, either the FMLA or the CTFMLA, then the provisions of the applicable law apply. When an employee leave is covered by both the FMLA and the CTFMLA, employers must apply the provisions of federal and state law that are more generous to employees. An employee is entitled to unpaid leave in order to: Witness and Victim Leave Victims of Family Violence Leave Appear as a witness in any criminal proceeding; Attend a court proceeding or participate in a police investigation related to a criminal case where the employee is a crime victim; or Attend or participate in a court proceeding related to a civil case where the employee is a victim of family violence. Employers may not discharge, penalize, threaten or coerce employees who take leave. Employers with three or more employees must allow employees who are victims of family violence to take leave in order to: Seek medical care or counseling for physical or psychological injury or disability; Obtain services from a victim services organization; 2

22 Employee Leave Laws Overview Relocate due to family violence; or Participate in any civil or criminal proceeding related to family violence. Leave may be paid or unpaid. Employees with compensatory, vacation, personal or other paid time off available may use that time for needed leave. Unpaid leave may be limited to 12 days during the calendar year. Employers are not required to provide paid time off to employees without any paid leave available. When the need for leave is foreseeable, employees must provide up to seven days notice, or as soon as possible if the leave is not foreseeable. Employers are permitted to request certification in the form of a police or court report, or a signed written statement that the employee is a victim of family violence. Paid Sick Leave Employers with 50 or more employees (based on the number of employees on the payroll during the week containing Oct. 1) must provide paid sick leave to eligible employees. Certain employers are exempt, including specific manufacturing operations and nationally chartered organizations exempt from taxation that provide recreation, childcare or educational services. Eligible employees include full- and part-time service workers. Employees who are day or temporary workers, per diem employees and employees who are considered exempt under the federal FLSA are specifically excluded. Eligible employees must accrue one hour of sick leave for every 40 hours worked during a 365-day period chosen by employers, up to a maximum of 40 hours of sick leave per year. Accruals must be in one-hour increments. Employees may carry over up to 40 hours of unused sick leave each year, but may not use more than 40 hours in any year. Service workers are eligible to use accrued sick leave after working 680 hours from the date of hire, if they worked an average of at least 10 hours per week in the most recent calendar quarter. Permitted use for sick leave includes leave for: An employee s illness, injury or health condition; Medical diagnosis, care or treatment of an employee s mental or physical illness, injury or health condition; Preventative medical care for the employee; To care for a child or spouse for the same purposes listed above; or Medical care, counseling, relocation or obtaining services from victim service organization resulting from family violence or sexual assault. When the need for sick leave is foreseeable, employees are to provide up to seven days prior notice (or as soon as possible, where the need for leave is not foreseeable). Employers may also request reasonable documentation to support any sick leave taken. Employers will be considered in compliance with the Paid Sick Leave law if the employer offers any other paid leave, or combination of other paid leave that may be used for the same reasons as defined in the law and that is accrued at a rate equal to or greater than one hour per every 40 hours worked (for a total of 40 hours per year). Pregnancy Leave Employers with three or more employees must provide employees with an unpaid leave of absence for a reasonable amount of time due to disabilities resulting from pregnancy. The amount of time off that is considered reasonable is not defined. An employee who returns from pregnancy leave must be reinstated to her original position or a position with equivalent pay, seniority, retirement and fringe benefits 3

23 Employee Leave Laws Overview and other service credits. Employers must inform employees of the opportunity to temporarily transfer to another position and make reasonable efforts to provide transfers. Additionally, employers must inform employees to submit written requests to be eligible for temporary transfers. Volunteer Firefighter and Ambulance Service Member Leave Elected Official Leave An employer may not discharge or discriminate in any manner against any employee who is an active volunteer firefighter or member of a volunteer ambulance service for being late or absent from work as a result of responding to an emergency call prior to or during the employee s regular working hours. Employees must provide their employers with a written statement of their volunteer status within 30 days of being certified. Employees must also promptly inform their employers of any change in their volunteer status, including termination of volunteer status. Employees are to make every effort to notify their employers if they will be late or absent from work due to emergency-call responses. Employers may request documentation signed by the appropriate fire or ambulatory authorities verifying the need for leave. Employers with 25 or more employees must grant a leave of absence to employees who accept a full-time elective municipal or state office. The leave must be granted for no more than two terms of office. An employee must give his or her employer written notice of his or her candidacy for a full-time municipal or state office within 30 days of his or her nomination for office. An employee who reapplies for his or her original position at the end of his or her leave must be reinstated to his or her original position, or a similar position with equivalent pay, seniority, retirement and fringe benefits. SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a city or county with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Connecticut employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and 4

24 Employee Leave Laws Overview Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 5

25 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Delaware has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty and court appearance leave; Volunteer emergency responder leave; Military leave; and Pregnancy accommodation leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Delaware s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty and Court Appearance Leave Volunteer Emergency Responder Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers must grant employees unpaid leave for jury duty. An employer cannot terminate, threaten or otherwise coerce an employee because the employee responds to a jury summons, serves as a juror or attends court for prospective jury service. An employer also may not discharge or discipline a victim or representative of a victim for attending or participating in preparation for a criminal justice proceeding. An employer with 10 or more employees cannot terminate, demote or take other disciplinary action against any employee who is a volunteer emergency responder, if, when acting as a volunteer emergency responder, the employee is absent from work: To respond to a Governor-declared state of emergency lasting up to seven consecutive days; To respond to a President-declared national emergency lasting up to 14 consecutive days; or Due to injury sustained when the employee was acting as a volunteer emergency responder. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. 2015, 2017 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. 7/15; AS 7/17 Military Leave In addition to USERRA, Delaware law provides National Guard members who are called to state active duty with the same rights, privileges and protections with respect to employment as they would have if called for military training under federal law protecting reservists and National Guard members.

26 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Pregnancy Accommodation Leave Employers with four or more employees must provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant applicants and employees who have work-related limitations stemming from pregnancy, childbirth or a related condition. Reasonable accommodations may include, but are not limited to, more frequent or longer breaks, periodic rest, job restructuring, light-duty assignments, a modified work schedule, time off to recover from childbirth, or break time and appropriate facilities for expressing milk. An employer must treat a pregnant employee or applicant the same for any employment-related purpose as it would treat any other employee or applicant not affected by pregnancy, but similar in the ability to work. An employer may not: Fail or refuse to make reasonable accommodations related to the pregnancy of an applicant or an employee, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer s operations; Deny employment opportunities to an applicant or employee based on the need to make reasonable accommodations related to pregnancy; Require an applicant or employee affected by pregnancy to accept an accommodation if: o o o The applicant or employee chooses not to accept it; The applicant or employee does not have a known limitation related to pregnancy; or The accommodation is unnecessary for the applicant or employee to perform the essential functions of her job; Require an employee to take leave under any leave law or policy of the employer if another reasonable accommodation can be provided; or Take adverse action against an employee for requesting or using a reasonable accommodation. In determining whether an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer, factors such as the nature and cost of the accommodation, the size of the employer s business and the effect the accommodation would have on the business operations of the employer are considered. SPECIAL NOTE: Delaware fair employment law prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals in employment due to family responsibilities. Family responsibilities means the obligations of an employee to care for any family member who would qualify as a covered family member under the federal FMLA. The law does not require employers to make special accommodations for employees with family responsibilities as long as all policies related to leave, scheduling, absenteeism, work performance and benefits are applied in a non-discriminatory manner. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Delaware employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate federal or state leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; 2

27 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 3

28 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, the District of Columbia (D.C.) has employee leave laws regarding: Parental leave; Jury duty leave; Accrued sick and safe leave; and Family and medical leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of D.C. s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. NOTE: D.C. s Universal Paid Leave Act will provide eligible employees with up to eight weeks of paid leave in any 52-week period for the employee s own serious health condition, the employee s family member s serious health condition, and/or care for the employee s newborn, adopted or foster child. The paid leave program will be administered by the D.C. government. The program is funded by a 0.62 percent increase in employer payroll taxes (set to be collected beginning July 1, 2019). Employer notice requirements apply. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Parental Leave REQUIREMENTS An employer must provide 24 hours of leave during any 12-month period to employees who are parents, in order for the employees to attend or participate in school-related events for their children. A parent includes: The natural mother and father; A person with legal custody of the child; A person who acts as a guardian (regardless of whether the person has been legally appointed); An aunt, uncle or grandparent of the child; or A person married to, or in a domestic partnership with, a person who qualifies as a parent. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. Leave may be unpaid, unless an employee elects to use any available paid time off. For a foreseeable school-related event, an employee is required to provide the employer with at least 10 days advance notice of the leave.* Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AMS 4/17

29 Employee Leave Laws Overview Jury Duty An employer may not terminate, threaten or otherwise coerce an employee with respect to employment because the employee receives or responds to a summons, serves as a juror or attends court for prospective juror service. An employer with 10 or more employees must pay a full-time employee his or her usual compensation for the first five days of jury service, less the fee received for jury service. Accrued Sick and Safe Leave (Paid Sick Leave) D.C. Family and Medical Leave (DCFMLA) All D.C. employers must provide employees with paid sick leave in certain situations. The amount of paid sick leave that must be provided depends on the employer s size, as follows: Employers with 100 or more employees must provide each employee with at least one hour of paid leave for every 37 hours worked, up to seven days per calendar year. Employers with employees must provide each employee with at least one hour of paid leave for every 43 hours worked, up to five days per calendar year. Employers with 24 or fewer employees must provide each employee with at least one hour of paid leave for every 87 hours worked, up to three days per calendar year. Restaurants or bars must provide tipped employees with at least one hour of paid time for every 43 hours worked, up to five days per calendar year. All employees (with a few limited exceptions) are eligible to accrue paid sick leave beginning on their date of hire in accordance with the employer s established pay period. Employees may use accrued leave after 90 days of employment. An employee may use accrued paid sick leave for: The employee s own illness or injury; Caring for a family member with an illness or injury; or Obtaining social or legal services pertaining to stalking, domestic violence or sexual abuse of the employee or employee s family member. An employee s use of paid sick leave may not run concurrently with other leaves. When the need for leave is foreseeable, an employee must provide written notice at least 10 days in advance. If not foreseeable, an employee must provide an oral request before the start of the shift for which paid leave is requested. In the case of an emergency, notice must be provided before the start of the employee s next work shift or within 24 hours, whichever is sooner. If an employee is absent for three or more consecutive days, an employer may require the employee to provide a reasonable certification, such as a signed document from a health care provider. Employers with 20 or more employees must provide eligible employees with unpaid family and medical leave. To be eligible, an employee must: Have worked for the employer for one year without a break in service (except regular holidays or sick or personal leave granted by the employer); and Have had at least 1,000 hours of service during the 12-month period prior to the leave request. Eligible employees are entitled to up to 16 weeks of leave in a 24-month period for: The birth of the employee s child; 2

30 Employee Leave Laws Overview The placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care; The placement of a child with the employee where the employee permanently assumes and discharges parental responsibility; The employee s serious health condition; or The care of a family member of the employee with a serious health condition. A "family member" means a person to whom the employee is related by blood, legal custody or marriage, or who shares a mutual residence and committed relationship with the employee. Leave for birth or placement of a child must be taken within 12 months of the birth or placement. Spouses working for the same employer are required to share leave, if leave is taken for the birth or placement of a child. Family and medical leave may be taken intermittently when a family member or the employee has a serious health condition. Upon agreement between the employer and employee, family leave for the birth, adoption or foster care, or other placement of a child may be taken on a reduced leave schedule over a period of up to 24 consecutive weeks. An employee may elect to substitute accrued paid family, vacation, personal or compensatory leave for unpaid family and medical leave. In addition, the employee may utilize a program run by the employer to use paid leave of another employee, if certain conditions have been met. Employee notice and certification requirements apply. Employers must also post a notice regarding family and medical leave in a conspicuous place. Employers with 50 or more employees are also subject to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). When an employee leave is covered by just one law, either the FMLA or the DCFMLA, then the provisions of the applicable law apply. When an employee leave is covered by both the FMLA and DCFMLA, employers must apply the provisions of federal and state law that are more generous to employees. SPECIAL NOTE: D.C. s parental leave law also provides that employees are entitled to an unpaid day of leave each year on April 16, the District of Columbia Emancipation Day. An employee must notify the employer of the desire to celebrate the District of Columbia Emancipation Day at least 10 days in advance. The employee does not have to be a parent. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for D.C. employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate federal or state leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 3

31 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Florida has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Military leave; Witness and juvenile court proceedings leave; and Domestic or sexual violence leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Florida s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers must provide one day of leave (unless the juror is assigned to a trial that lasts longer) to employees summoned to jury duty. Leave is unpaid, unless municipal law requires payment. Job protections apply to employees taking jury duty leave. Military Leave Witness and Juvenile Court Proceedings Leave In addition to USERRA, Florida law provides the following job protections for military members: Reemployment rights for members of the Florida National Guard following state active military duty; and Discrimination protections for members of the Florida National Guard or any Reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces. Employers must provide unpaid leave to employees who are subpoenaed to testify in a judicial proceeding. Job protections apply to employees taking witness leave. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. BK 10/13; Rev. 11/16

32 Employee Leave Laws Overview Domestic or Sexual Violence Leave Employers who employ 50 or more employees must provide up to three workdays of domestic or sexual violence leave in any 12-month period. Employees who have worked for their employer for at least three months are eligible for domestic violence leave to: Seek an injunction for protection; Obtain medical care, mental health counseling or both for the employee or a family or household member; Obtain services from a victim services organization; Secure the employee s home or seek new housing; or Seek legal assistance or attend and prepare for court-related proceedings. Job protections and notice and certification requirements apply. SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a city with a local paid sick leave law must comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Florida employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

33 Provided by A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, such as vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Georgia has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty and court attendance leave; Voting leave; Military leave; and Use of sick leave to care for family members. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Georgia s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for Georgia employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty and Court Attendance Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers may not discharge, discipline or otherwise penalize (or threaten to penalize) an employee for taking leave to attend a judicial proceeding in response to a subpoena, a summons for jury duty or any other court order. This protection does not apply to employees who are charged with a crime. Employers may require employees to provide reasonable notice of the absence or delay in reporting to work in order to attend the judicial proceeding. Georgia s jury duty and court attendance leave law does not require leave to be paid. However, an Attorney General s Opinion from 1989 states that an employee is entitled to be paid his or her salary while missing work to serve on a jury. (Op. Att y Gen l No ) Voting Leave Employees who are eligible, registered voters must be allowed up to two hours of time off from work to vote in any municipal, county, state or federal political party primary or election. However, leave is not available if the employee s work hours: Begin at least two hours after the polls open; or This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. End at least two hours before the polls close. Employees must provide the employer with reasonable notice of the absence. Employers may specify the hours during which the employee may absent. 2014, 2017 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. 10/14; AS 5/17

34 Employee Leave Laws Overview Military Leave In addition to USERRA, Georgia law provides reemployment rights for state and U.S. military service members. An employer must restore an employee returning from military service (without loss of seniority or other benefits) to the employee s former position or a position of like seniority, status and pay. Reemployment is not required if the employer's circumstances have changed, making it impossible or unreasonable to do so. Reemployment rights generally apply to employees who leave a position of employment, other than a temporary position, in order to perform state or U.S. military service. Employees must still be qualified to perform the duties of the position to be eligible for reemployment. In general, employees must apply for reemployment within 90 days after they are relieved from military service. However, employees who leave work to participate in annual training or attend service schools conducted by the U.S. armed forces must apply for reemployment within 10 days after completion of the training or service school. Employees must also submit to their employers a certificate of completion of military service from an officer of the applicable military force. An employee who is restored following military leave must be considered as having been on furlough. These employees may not be discharged without cause within one year after the restoration. Use of Sick Leave to Care for Family Members Georgia employers are not required to provide paid sick leave to employees. However, effective July 1, 2017, employers with 25 or more employees that already provide paid sick leave to employees (excluding short- and long-term disability) must permit eligible employees to use their sick leave to care for immediate family members. Immediate family member is defined to include the employee s child, spouse, grandchild, grandparent, parent or any dependents on the employee s most recent tax return. An eligible employee is one who works at least 30 hours per week. Eligible employees may be limited to five days of paid sick leave use per calendar year to care for an immediate family member. Employees must comply with the terms of the employer s sick leave policy. SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in this chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities and counties across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a city with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Georgia employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; 2

35 Employee Leave Laws Overview Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 3

36 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Hawaii has employee leave laws regarding: Voting leave; Jury duty leave; Military leave; Pregnancy disability leave; Domestic violence or sexual assault leave; and Family leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Hawaii s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Voting Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers must provide employees with up to two hours (excluding meals and breaks) of paid leave to vote. An employee is not eligible for voting leave if he or she has two consecutive nonworking hours (excluding meals and breaks) in which to vote. An employer that can verify that an employee took voting leave, but did not vote, is not required to pay the employee for the leave. Jury Duty Leave An employer cannot discharge, threaten or coerce an employee who responds to a jury summons, serves as a juror or attends court for prospective jury service. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 7/15; Rev. 7/17 Military Leave In addition to USERRA, Hawaii law provides the following leave and job protections to members of the National Guard: Unlimited unpaid leave to engage in ordered National Guard service; and Reemployment to their original positions or positions of like seniority, status and pay. If members are no longer qualified due to disabilities sustained during their service, employers must offer other positions they are qualified for that are closest to the seniority, status and pay of the employees original positions. Employees may not be discharged without cause within one year of reemployment. Employees may not be discriminated against due to their obligations as members of the National Guard.

37 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Pregnancy Disability Leave All employers must provide a reasonable period of leave to female employees who are disabled due to pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition. Leave may be paid or unpaid at the employer s discretion. A reasonable period of leave is determined by the employee s physician, based on the employee s job requirements and physical condition. An employer may request certification from a doctor estimating the length of leave and the estimated start and end dates of leave. An employee must be reinstated to her original position or to a position of similar status and pay, without the loss of accumulated service credits and privileges. An employer may request medical certification releasing the employee back to work. Domestic or Sexual Violence Leave Family Leave All employers must provide eligible employees with unpaid leave due to domestic or sexual violence, in order to: Seek medical attention; Obtain services from a victim services organization; Obtain psychological or other counseling; Relocate; or Take legal action or other action to enhance the safety of affected individuals. In addition, the employer must reinstate the employee upon return from leave. To be eligible, an employee must have been employed for at least six consecutive months and must be (or have a minor child who is) a victim of domestic or sexual violence. Employers with 50 or more employees must provide eligible employees up to 30 days of leave per calendar year. Employers with fewer than 50 employees must provide eligible employees up to five days per calendar year. If the employee is entitled to take paid or unpaid leave under any other law, agreement or program that may be used for victim s leave, the employee must exhaust the other paid and unpaid leave benefits before domestic or sexual violence leave is applied. However, the combination of the other paid or unpaid leave and the domestic or sexual violence leave is limited to the maximum leave amount for domestic or sexual violence leave (30 days or five days, depending on the employer s size). In addition, an employee is entitled to the same benefits or continuation of benefits that would be provided to similarly situated employees who were on leave for reasons other than domestic or sexual violence. An employee must provide reasonable notice to the employer unless it is not practicable due to imminent danger to the employee or the employee s minor child. An employer may require the employee to report at least once per week on the employee s status and intention to return to work. Employers may request certification for employees need for domestic or sexual violence leave. An employer with 100 or more employees in at least 20 calendar weeks of the current or preceding year must provide an eligible employee with up to four weeks of unpaid family leave per calendar year for the birth or adoption of a child or to care for the employee s child, sibling, spouse/reciprocal beneficiary or parent with a serious health condition. To be eligible, an employee must have been employed for at least six consecutive months. Serious health condition means a physical or mental condition that warrants the employee s participation to provide care during the period of treatment or supervision by a health care provider, and requires inpatient care or continuing treatment. An employee may substitute up to 10 days of accrued paid leave for any part of the fourweek period (unless a collective bargaining agreement allows use of more than 10 days). Employee notice and certification requirements and reinstatement rights apply. 2

38 Employee Leave Laws-Overview SPECIAL NOTE: The Hawaii Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program requires employers to provide partial wage replacement insurance coverage to their eligible employees for non-work-related sickness or injury, including pregnancy. The employer s plan determines the weekly benefit amount, the payment period and any applicable waiting period. At a minimum, the employer s plan must provide that an eligible employee is entitled to disability benefits from the eighth day of disability for a maximum of 26 weeks at 58 percent of the employee s average weekly wages, up to the maximum weekly benefit amount. This maximum benefit amount changes annually. The State of Hawaii Disability Compensation Division provides more information. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Hawaii employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate federal or state leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 3

39 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Idaho has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Military leave; and Pregnancy disability leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Idaho s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for Idaho employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave REQUIREMENTS An employer may not discharge, threaten or otherwise coerce an employee who responds to a summons, serves as a juror or attends court for jury service. Military Leave In addition to USERRA, Idaho law provides employment protections to members of the National Guard and the U.S. military reserves: Any member of the National Guard (of Idaho or any other state) called to active service must be granted unpaid leave, and must be restored to his or her original position (or one of like seniority, status and pay) after returning from leave. A reinstated employee cannot be discharged without cause within one year of reemployment. Members of the National Guard or the U.S. military reserves are entitled to 15 days of leave in any calendar year to attend military training, if they provide 90 days notice to their employers. Leave may be paid or unpaid, at the employer s discretion. The period of leave cannot affect the employee s right to receive vacation, sick leave, bonus, advancement and other advantages of employment. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. 2015, 2017 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 5/17 Pregnancy Disability Leave Although not specifically addressed in Idaho s Human Rights Act (Act), the Idaho Supreme Court has construed the Act s prohibition on sex discrimination to prohibit discrimination on the basis of pregnancy. The Act applies to employers with five or more employees. Generally, employers should treat pregnancy-related disabilities the same as other temporary disabilities regarding leave. This would include the duration, availability of extensions, accrual of seniority and other benefits while on leave and job reinstatement.

40 Employee Leave Laws Overview SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in this chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities and counties across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer that is located in a city with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Idaho employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate federal or state leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

41 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, such as vacation, personal and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Illinois has employee leave laws regarding: Voting leave; Jury duty and judicial witness leave; Civil air patrol leave; Military leave; Family military leave; Leave for victims of domestic or sexual violence; School visitation leave; Blood donation leave; Child bereavement leave; and Employee sick leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Illinois employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Voting Leave Jury Duty and Judicial Witness Leave REQUIREMENTS Leave laws apply to general or special elections and primary elections. For general or special elections, employers must give up to a two-hour paid leave, for eligible employees. Prior notice from employee is required. For primary elections, up to a two-hour unpaid leave is permitted, with employer s consent. Employers must provide unpaid leave to employees summoned to jury duty, if they are legally qualified to serve on a jury. Employees must provide notice within 10 days after summons is issued. Job protections apply to employees taking leave. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. Employer may not punish or penalize an employee who is a witness to a crime and takes time off from work to testify at a criminal proceeding pursuant to a subpoena. Leave is unpaid. 2011, Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 2/17

42 Employee Leave Laws Overview Civil Air Patrol Leave Employers with 15 or more employees must provide unpaid leave to eligible employees who are members of the civil air patrol performing a civil air patrol mission. To be eligible, employee must have been employed by the same employer for at least 12 months and must have at least 1,250 hours of service during the 12-month period before the leave. Amount of leave depends on employer s size, as follows: Between 15 and 50 employees Up to 15 days of leave. More than 50 employees Up to 30 days of leave. Employers cannot require employees to use up other types of leave before taking civil air patrol leave. Employees must give advance notice of leave, and employers may require certification to verify eligibility for leave. Job protections apply to employees taking leave. Military Leave Family Military Leave In addition to USERRA, Illinois has the following laws providing employment protections for military service members: Service Member s Employment Tenure Act: Requires employers to provide reemployment rights to employees who leave work to enter military service in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard and state militia, or active duty with the State of Illinois pursuant to orders by the governor or president. Also provides job protections for individuals who are called to military service after begin offered a job but before they begin work. National Guard Employment Rights Law: Requires employers to provide reemployment rights to National Guard members who leave employment because they are called to active duty with the State of Illinois. Nondiscrimination: It is unlawful for employers with 15 or more employees to discriminate against employees based on their military status. Separate nondiscrimination provisions apply to members of the National Guard or Reserves. Employers with 15 or more employees must provide eligible employees with unpaid family military leave. To be eligible, an employee must: Be the spouse, parent, child or grandparent of a person called to military service lasting longer than 30 days; and Have been employed by the same employer for at least 12 months, and must have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12- month period before the leave. The maximum amount of leave depends on the employer s size, as follows: Between 15 and 50 employees Up to 15 days of leave. More than 50 employees Up to 30 days of leave. Before taking family military leave, employees must use up all other types of accrued leave, except sick or disability leave. Employees must provide advance notice. Employer may require certification to verify eligibility for leave. Job protections apply to employees taking leave. 2

43 Employee Leave Laws Overview Leave for Victims of Domestic or Sexual Violence School Visitation Leave Employers must provide unpaid leave for employees who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, or have a family or household member who is a victim of this violence. Employers are required to post a notice summarizing this type of leave. Eligible employees may take leave to: Seek medical attention; Obtain services from a victim services organization; Obtain counseling; Participate in safety planning; or Seek legal assistance. The maximum amount of leave depends on the employer s size, as follows: Employer with no more than 14 employees Up to four workweeks of leave during any 12-month period (effective Jan. 1, 2017). Between 15 and 49 employees Up to eight workweeks of leave during any 12-month period. 50 or more employees Up to 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period. Employers cannot require the substitution of another type of leave, except employees are not entitled to leave that exceeds, or is in addition to, the leave time permitted under the federal FMLA. Employees must provide advance notice of the leave, unless it is not practicable to do so. Employers may require certification to determine eligibility for leave. Job protections apply to employees taking leave. Employers with 50 or more employees must provide leave to eligible employees so that they can attend their children s school conferences or classroom activities, when the events cannot be rescheduled during non-work hours. To be eligible, an employee must have: Worked for the employer for at least six consecutive months before making the leave request; and Been employed on at least a half-time basis during that sixmonth period. An employer must provide an eligible employee with up to eight hours of school visitation leave per school year, but no more than four hours can be taken on one day. Employers are not required to pay employees for the leave; however, they must make a good faith effort to allow employees to make up the time missed. Before taking school visitation leave, an employee must use of all other accrued leave, except sick or disability leave. Employees must provide advance notice of leave. Employees should 3

44 Employee Leave Laws Overview submit a verification form to employers following the leave. Job protections apply to employees taking leave. Leave requirements apply to employers with 50 or more employees. Blood Donation Leave Child Bereavement Leave Employee Sick Leave With employer approval, full-time employees who have been employed for six months or longer are eligible for paid blood donation leave. After obtaining his or her employer s approval, an employee may use up to one hour (or more time if authorized by the employer) to donate blood every 56 days in accordance with appropriate medical standards. Employer may require employee to provide confirmation from the blood bank. Eligible employees cannot be required to use accumulated or future sick or vacation time for the period used to donate blood. Effective July 29, 2016, employers that are covered under the federal FMLA (those with 50 or more employees) must provide eligible employees with up to two weeks (10 working days) of unpaid bereavement leave due to the loss of a child. Eligible employees are those who suffer the loss of a child and meet the eligibility requirements under the federal FMLA. Leave must be used within 60 days of the employee being notified of the child s death. Leave may be used to: Attend the funeral (or alternative funeral) of a child; Make arrangements necessitated by the death of the child; or Grieve the death of the child. If an employee experiences the loss of more than one child during a 12- month period, the employee is entitled to six weeks of leave during the 12-month period. Child is defined to include an employee s son or daughter who is a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward or a child of a person standing in loco parentis. Unless it is not reasonable or practicable, an employee must provide his or her employer with 48 hours notice of the intention to take leave. Employers may require documentation, such as a death certificate or published obituary. Employees must be permitted to (but may not be required to) substitute any available paid leave for the otherwise unpaid bereavement leave. The law does not create a right for an employee to take unpaid leave that exceeds, or is in addition to, unpaid leave provided under the federal FMLA. Illinois does not have a statewide law that requires employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. However, effective Jan. 1, 2017, the Employee Sick Leave Act (ESLA) requires Illinois employers that currently provide personal sick leave benefits to employees to permit employees to use available sick leave benefits to care for family members. The ESLA was amended effective Jan. 13, 2017, to clarify certain provisions. Under the ESLA (as amended), personal sick leave benefits are defined as any paid or unpaid time available to an employee under an employer s plan or policy to cover an employee s absence from work due 4

45 Employee Leave Laws Overview to personal illness, injury or medical appointment. Short- and long-term disability benefits (and other comparable insurance policies) are specifically excluded from the definition of personal sick leave benefits. The ESLA requires employers to allow employees to use personal sick leave benefits to care for the employee s child, stepchild, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, parent, parent-in-law, grandchild, grandparent or stepparent, on the same terms that the employee is able to use personal sick leave benefits for his or her own illness or injury. An employer may request written verification of the employee's absence from a health care professional, if this verification is required under the employer's plan or policy. An employer may limit an employee s use of personal sick leave benefits for family care to an amount not less than the personal sick leave that would be earned or accrued during six months at the employee's rate of entitlement. Special rules apply for employer plans that base available leave benefits on years of service. An employer that already provides its employees with leave benefits that comply with the ESLA is not required to modify its benefits. SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities and counties across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a city or county with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Illinois employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 5

46 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Indiana has employee leave laws regarding: Jury and witness duty leave; Military and military family leave; Civil air patrol leave; and Emergency response leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Indiana s employee leave laws, and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury and Witness Duty Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers may not subject an employee to any adverse employment action for taking time off from work to serve on a jury or respond to a subpoena in a criminal proceeding. Notice requirements apply. For employers with 10 or fewer full-time employees, a court must reschedule an employee s jury service for a date that does not overlap with the jury service of another employee, if the court is properly notified. Leave is unpaid. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. 9/12; Rev. 10/16 Military and Military Family Leave In addition to USERRA, Indiana law provides employment protections for Indiana and U.S. military members. Employers must provide up to 15 days per year of temporary leave to U.S. reserve members for periods of military training. Reemployment rights and nondiscrimination protections apply. Employers must provide temporary leave to Indiana National Guard members for periods of state active service. Reemployment rights and nondiscrimination protections apply. The Indiana Military Family Leave Law applies to employers that employ 50 or more employees for each working day during at least 20 calendar work weeks and provides job-protected leave for certain employees to spend time with a family member who has been called to active duty.

47 Employee Leave Laws Overview Civil Air Patrol Leave An employer may not discipline an employee who is a Civil Air Patrol member for being absent from or leaving work to engage in an emergency service operation that began: Before the employee was scheduled to start work; or After the employee reported to work, if the employee obtained authorization from his or her supervisor before leaving. Notice and certification requirements apply. Emergency Response Leave An employer may not discipline an employee who is a volunteer firefighter or member of a volunteer medical services association for being absent from or leaving work due to: Response to a fire or emergency call that was received before the employee was scheduled to start work; Response to a fire or emergency call during work hours, if the employee obtained authorization from his or her supervisor before leaving; or An injury that occurred while the employee was engaged in emergency firefighting or other emergency response. Notice and certification requirements apply. SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a city with a local paid sick leave law must comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Indiana employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

48 Provided by A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Iowa has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty and witness leave; Elected official leave; Voting leave; Armed forces leave; and Pregnancy disability leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Iowa s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for Iowa employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty and Witness Leave Elected Official Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers must allow employees who receive notice to report to jury duty unpaid time off to respond to a jury duty notice, serve as a juror or attend court for prospective juror service. Employers must also allow unpaid leave to any employee serving as a witness in a criminal proceeding or as a plaintiff, defendant or witness in a civil proceeding. Employers may not discharge, threaten to or take adverse actions against employees taking leave to serve as a juror or witness. Employers with 20 or more full-time employees must grant unpaid leave to any employee who is: Elected to serve in a municipal, county, state or federal office (except where prohibited by federal law); or A volunteer on a state government board, commission, committee, council or task force. Leave must be granted without loss of seniority and benefits earned. An elected employee must submit a written application to his or her employer to notify the employer of the leave of absence. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. 2015, 2017 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 1/17 Voting Leave An employer must provide paid leave to an employee to vote to the extent he or she will have at least three consecutive hours (including nonworking time) when the polls are open to do so. Leave must be requested in writing prior to the election and employers may designate the period of leave.

49 Employee Leave Laws Overview Armed Forces Leave Employers must grant unpaid leave to eligible employees who are called to active duty, for the duration of the active duty. Eligible employees include nontemporary employees who are members of the National Guard, U.S. armed forces Reserves or Civil Air Patrol. Employees returning from active duty must be reinstated to a position of like seniority, status and pay. In addition, any leave taken cannot affect the employee s rights to vacation, sick leave, bonus or other employment benefits related to his or her employment. Employers may require documentation of the employee s satisfactory completion of the active duty or service and that he or she is able to perform the duties of the position. Pregnancy Disability Leave Employers with four or more regular employees must grant up to eight weeks of unpaid leave to an employee who is disabled by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition. Leave due to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition must be treated the same as leaves for other types of temporary disabilities. This includes written policy plans as well as written and unwritten employment practices involving leave running concurrently with other statutorily provided leave, ability to take leave intermittently, requiring use of available paid leave, availability of extensions, reinstatement, and start and duration of leave. Employees are required to provide the same notice to their employers as is required for other disability leaves, or timely notice if no other disability leave is available. Employers can require verification of the employee s disability. SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities and counties have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a locality with a paid sick leave ordinance must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Iowa employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave laws and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

50 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Kansas has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Voting leave; Pregnancy leave; Domestic violence leave; and Military and National Guard leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Kansas employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave Voting Leave REQUIREMENTS An employer must provide unpaid leave for all time an employee spends completing jury service. An employer may not discharge or threaten to discharge an employee due to his or her jury service. Employees must be reinstated to their same positions without loss of seniority or benefits following jury service. Employees must be allowed up to two consecutive hours of paid time off from work to vote in an election. However, if polls are open outside an employee s working hours, the employee must only be allowed leave that provides at least two consecutive hours when added to the employee s non-working hours. An employer may specify the hours an employee may leave work to vote, but may not designate the employee s lunchtime for voting. Pregnancy Leave Employers with four or more employees must treat pregnant employees experiencing complications (miscarriage, abortion and childbirth) as temporarily disabled. These employees must be treated in the same manner as any other temporarily disabled employees under any health or temporary disability insurance or sick leave plans made available by employers. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. Additionally, employers must allow female employees a leave of absence for a reasonable period of time due to childbirth. Once an employee notifies the employer of her intent to return following leave for childbirth, the employer must reinstate the employee to her original position or a position with similar status and pay, without loss of seniority or other benefits. 2015, 2017 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 5/17

51 Employee Leave Laws Overview Domestic Violence Leave Military and National Guard Leave An employer cannot discharge, discriminate or retaliate against an employee who is a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault and who takes time off from work to: Obtain (or attempt to obtain) a temporary restraining order, a normal restraining order or other injunctive relief for the employee s safety or the safety of his or her child(ren); Seek medical attention for any injuries resulting from domestic violence or sexual assault; Obtain services from a domestic violence shelter or program or rape crisis center as a result of domestic violence or sexual assault; or Attend court appearances related to the domestic violence or sexual assault. An employee seeking domestic violence leave must give his or her employer advance notice of the intention to take time off of work, whenever possible. Within 48 hours of the employee s return, the employee must provide documentation that supports the requested time off. An employer may not take adverse action against an employee for an unscheduled absence if the employee provides sufficient documentation (such as a police report) to support the absence within 48 hours. Employees are permitted up to eight days of domestic violence leave per calendar year. Leave taken is unpaid. However, employees may substitute any accrued paid leave for the otherwise unpaid leave. In addition to USERRA, Kansas law provides job protections for state and U.S. military service members. Employers must grant eligible employees an unpaid leave of absence if called to active duty or to perform annual drills (unless the employer provides paid leave in similar leave situations). Employees are entitled to leave for the period of military duty plus 72 hours after release from duty or recovery from disease or injury resulting from military duty. To be reinstated, returning military members must demonstrate satisfactory completion of military duty, including honorable release. If these conditions are met, employers must reinstate employees to their original positions, pay and benefits without loss of seniority, or positions of like seniority, status and pay. Employers may not discriminate against or discharge employees due to military status. In addition, employers may not discharge employees who returned from military leave without cause for one year following reinstatement. SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in this chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities and counties across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer that is located in a city with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Kansas employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; 2

52 Employee Leave Laws Overview Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 3

53 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Kentucky has employee leave laws regarding: Voting and election officer leave; Jury duty leave; Adoption leave; Volunteer firefighter leave; and Military leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Kentucky s employee leave laws, and it suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Voting and Election Officer Leave Jury Duty Leave REQUIREMENTS Employees who apply for leave from work to vote prior to election day must be allowed at least four hours of leave to vote on election day. An employer may specify the hours that the employee may leave to vote. An employee who takes voting leave but does not cast a ballot may be disciplined. An employee who is an election officer is entitled to a full day of leave from work to attend training or to serve as an election officer. Employers may not discharge or penalize employees who take leave to vote or serve as election officers. An employer may not discharge, threaten or otherwise coerce an employee who responds to a jury summons, serves as a juror or attends court for prospective jury service. Leave for jury duty is unpaid. Employers who discharge employees in connection with their jury service face civil action. Adoption Leave An employer must provide an employee who makes a written request for reasonable personal leave with up to six weeks of leave due to the adoption of a child under the age of 7. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. Rev. 4/17 Volunteer Firefighter Leave An employer may not terminate an employee who is absent or late to work due to responding to an emergency in his or her volunteer capacity as a volunteer firefighter, rescue squad member, emergency medical technician, peace officer or member of an emergency management agency. Leave is unpaid. Employers may require documentation to support the emergency leave.

54 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Volunteer Firefighter Leave (cont.) Military Leave An employer may not terminate an employee who is on leave for up to 12 months due to injuries incurred in the line of duty. The employer may request a statement from a physician stating the injury and a date the employee will return to work. In addition to the federal law USERRA, Kentucky law provides the following job protections for military members: Employees who are members of the National Guard must be granted an unpaid leave of absence for required active duty or training. Employees returning from active duty or training leave must be reinstated to their former positions with the seniority, status, pay and other rights employees would have had but for the military leave. Employers are prohibited from discriminating against individuals due to membership in the National Guard or Kentucky active militia. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Kentucky employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

55 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Louisiana has employee leave laws regarding: Pregnancy disability leave; School and day care activities leave; Jury duty leave; Volunteer first responder leave; and Military leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Louisiana s employee leave laws, and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Pregnancy Disability Leave Louisiana School and Day Care Conference and Activities Leave Jury Duty Leave REQUIREMENTS An employer with more than 25 employees must allow an employee up to six weeks of disability leave if the employee is affected by a normal pregnancy. Additionally, an employee who is disabled due to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions must be granted a leave of absence, not to exceed four months. Employees must be permitted to use any accrued vacation leave during this period. An employer may require an employee to give reasonable notice of the intended start and end dates of the leave. Employers may grant their employees up to 16 hours of leave during any 12-month period in order to attend, observe or participate in conferences or classroom activities related to employees dependent children. Leave is unpaid and an employee must provide reasonable notice of his or her intent to take leave. Employees are permitted to substitute unpaid leave with accrued vacation or other paid leave. Employers must provide one paid day to employees who are called to serve as jurors. An employee must provide reasonable notice regarding his or her jury service. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. An employer may not discharge or take other adverse action against any employee who serves as a juror Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 4/17

56 Employee Leave Laws Overview Volunteer First Responder Leave An employee who is a volunteer first responder to the Louisiana Homeland Security Emergency Assistance and Disaster Service must be granted an unpaid temporary leave of absence by his or her employer in order to perform first responder duties. The temporary leave of absence is subject to the terms and conditions of the employer s stated leave of absence policy. Upon return, the employee must be reinstated to his or her previous position or comparable position with equal compensation, seniority, status and benefits. To be eligible for reinstatement, an employee must report to work within 72 hours after being released from duty or recovery. Military Leave In addition to USERRA, Louisiana provides the following employment protections for returning military members: Reemployment requirements for military members in the uniformed services; Reemployment requirements for persons in active state service, including the National Guard (and service in the National Guard for other states); and Fair employment protections prohibiting workplace discrimination on the basis of military service. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Louisiana employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

57 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Maine has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Emergency response leave; Victims leave; Military leave; Family military leave; Family medical leave; and Public health emergency leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Maine s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave Emergency Response Leave REQUIREMENTS An employer may not terminate (or threaten to terminate) employment or health insurance coverage due to an employee s response to a jury summons or service as a juror. An employer may not discharge or take other disciplinary action for an employee s tardiness if the employee is a firefighter and was late due to responding to an emergency. This does not apply if the employee is designated as essential to the employer s operations and the employee s absence would cause disruption of the employer s business. Any time lost may be unpaid or charged against an employee s available leave time. Employers may request certification from the fire department stating that the employee was responding to an emergency call and the time of release from the call. Victims Leave Employers must grant reasonable leave (paid or unpaid, at employer s discretion) to employees who are victims of violence, assault, sexual assault or stalking (or whose child, parent or spouse is a victim). Leave may be taken to: This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. Prepare for and attend court proceedings; Receive or attend to medical treatment for a victim; or Obtain necessary services to remedy a crisis caused by domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. 2015, 2017 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 5/17

58 Employee Leave Laws Overview Military Leave Family Military Leave In addition to the federal law USERRA, Maine law provides the following job protections for members of the National Guard or the U.S. Armed Forces Reserves: Employers cannot discriminate against employees based on their membership in the National Guard or U.S. Armed Forces. Members of the National Guard or U.S. Armed Forces Reserves must be granted unpaid leave in response to state or federal military orders. Employers must continue benefits for the first 30 days of military leave at no additional cost to the employee. After 30 days, the employee must have the option of continuing these benefits at his or her own expense. An employee returning from military leave must be reinstated to the same pay, seniority, benefits and status as if the employee had remained continuously employed. The employer must allow a period of time before requiring an employee returning from military leave to report back to work, based on the length of the military service. Employers with 15 or more employees must allow eligible employees up to 15 days of unpaid family military leave per deployment. To be eligible, an employee must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months, and must have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months prior to the start of the leave request. Family military leave may only be taken during: The 15 days immediately prior to deployment; Deployment, if the military member is granted leave; or The 15 days immediately following the period of deployment. Notice and certification requirements apply. The employer must allow the employee to continue benefits at the employee s expense during leave. Upon return from leave, an employee must be reinstated to his or her original position or to a position with equal seniority, benefits, pay and other conditions of employment. Family Medical Leave An employer with 15 or more employees must provide an eligible employee with up to 10 workweeks of unpaid family and medical leave in any two-year period for: The employee s own serious health condition; The birth of the employee s child or the employee s domestic partner s child; The placement of a child 16 years old or younger with the employee or the employee s domestic partner for adoption; The serious health condition of the employee s child, domestic partner s child, parent, domestic partner, sibling or spouse; The employee s organ donation; or The death or serious health condition resulting from active duty of the employee s spouse, domestic partner, parent, sibling or child who was a member of the military. To be eligible for leave, an employee must have worked for a covered employer for 12 consecutive months. Notice, certification requirements and job protections apply. Employers must allow employees on leave to continue benefits at the employee s expense. Employers with 50 or more employees are also subject to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). When an employee leave is covered by just one law (either the FMLA or Maine s Family and Medical Leave law) then the provisions of the applicable law apply. When an employee leave is covered by both, employers must apply the provisions of federal and state law that are more generous to employees. 2

59 Employee Leave Laws Overview Public Health Emergency Leave An employer must grant leave to an employee who is unable to work for the following reasons: The employee is under individual public health investigation, supervision or treatment related to an extreme public health emergency; The employee is acting in accordance with an extreme public health emergency order; The employee is in quarantine or isolation, or is subject to a control measure in accordance with extreme public health emergency information or directions; The employer directs the employee to take leave over concern that the employee may expose other individuals in the workplace to an extreme public health emergency or threat; or The employee is needed to provide care or assistance to one or more of the employee s family members. Leave must be granted for the entire duration of an extreme public health emergency. Additional leave may be granted following the termination of the public health emergency for diseases or conditions contracted during the emergency. The employer may require documentation supporting the employee s leave. While leave may be paid or unpaid at the employer s discretion, the employee s benefits must be retained for the duration of the leave. SPECIAL NOTE: Maine does not currently require paid sick leave. However, employers with 25 or more employees who provide paid sick leave, vacation time or compensatory time to employees, must allow that time to be used to care for an immediate family member who is ill. Please note that the information in this chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities and counties across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a city with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Maine employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 3

60 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Maryland has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty and court attendance leave; Voting leave; Civil air patrol leave; Deployment leave; Flexible leave; Adoption leave; Day of rest for retail employees; and Parental leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Maryland s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE REQUIREMENTS This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. Rev. 1/17 Jury Duty and Court Attendance Leave An employer may not terminate or threaten to terminate an employee for missing work because he or she: Responded to a summons for jury duty or subpoena to appear as a witness in any civil or criminal proceeding (including discovery proceedings); or Attended a proceeding he or she has a right to attend. Employers cannot require an employee to use any sick or vacation leave to attend jury duty. Leave for jury duty is not required to be paid. In addition, employers cannot require an employee who appears for jury duty for four or more hours (including travel time) to work his or her scheduled shift if it begins: On or after 5 p.m. on the day of the employee s appearance for jury duty; or Before 3 a.m. on the day after the employee s appearance for jury duty.

61 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Voting Leave Civil Air Patrol Leave Employers must allow employees who are registered to vote up to two hours of paid leave to vote. Employees must provide proof that they voted or attempted to vote. However, leave is not required for employees who have at least two consecutive hours off work when the polls are open. Employers with 15 or more employees must allow up to 15 days of unpaid leave per calendar year for volunteer members of the Civil Air Patrol who are responding to authorized emergency missions. Employers may not require eligible employees to exhaust other available leave before taking civil air patrol leave. While not required, an employer and employee may negotiate for the employer to pay for continued benefits for the employee while on leave. Employees must provide as much notice to their employer as possible of the start date and estimated amount of leave needed. In addition, after arriving at an emergency location, employees must provide updated information to their employers regarding their leave and anticipated return to work. The employer can require verification for the employee s civil air patrol leave. Upon return from civil air patrol leave, an employee must be restored to the position held prior to leave (or to a position with equal status, benefits, pay and conditions of employment). Deployment Leave Employers with 50 or more employees must allow leave for eligible employees on the day an immediate family member is leaving for or returning from active duty outside of the United States as a member of the U.S. armed forces. An immediate family member is defined as a spouse, parent, stepparent, child, stepchild or sibling of the employee. To be eligible for deployment leave, an employee must have been employed for the 12 months prior to leave and worked at least 1,250 hours during those 12 months. Employers may require verification for the employee s leave, but may not require the employee to use compensatory, sick or vacation leave when taking leave. Flexible Leave Employers with paid leave policies that have 15 or more employees in 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year are covered under the Maryland Flexible Leave Act (MFLA). The MFLA provides paid leave to employees due to the illness of an immediate family member (defined as a child, spouse or parent). Paid leave includes the paid time away from work that the employee has earned and is available to them, including sick leave, vacation time, paid time off and compensatory time. Employees with multiple types of paid leave available may choose the leave they wish to use. Paid leave does not include any employee welfare benefits regulated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), such as workers compensation and disability benefits. An employer may enforce the same notice and certification requirements, if any, as outlined in its leave policies. If the terms of the paid leave (as outlined in a collective bargaining agreement or employment policy) provide equal or greater benefits than those provided by the MFLA, the collective bargaining agreement or employment policy applies. The MFLA does not extend or limit an employee s rights under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). 2

62 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Adoption Leave Day of Rest for Retail Employees Parental Leave Any employer that employs individuals who are not subject to Title 9, Subtitle 5 of the State Personnel and Pensions Article and provides paid leave to employees following the birth of their child, must provide equal paid leave to an employee after a child is placed with the employee for adoption. All Maryland retail establishments must allow employees to choose a day of rest per workweek, unless the employee is a: Managerial employee; Professional employee; or Part-time employee working fewer than 25 hours per week (this does not apply to retail employees in Wicomico County). Eligible employees may choose Sunday or their Sabbath as their day of rest and must provide their employers with notice of their intended day of rest in writing. However, employees are not eligible for leave during a federal, state or local government-declared emergency. An employee may change his or her day of rest by providing at least 30 days written notice to his or her employer prior to the intended effective date of the change. Employers cannot ask job applicants which day they will choose as their day of rest. Employers with at least 15, but not more than 49 employees must provide up to six workweeks of unpaid parental leave to eligible employees. To be eligible, an employee must: Have worked for the employer for at least a 12-month period; Have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period prior to the start of the parental leave; and Be employed at a worksite with at least 15 employees within 75 miles of the worksite. Eligible employees may take up to six workweeks of unpaid parental leave for the birth of the employee s child or the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care. An employee may elect, or an employer may require an employee to substitute available paid leave for any part or all of the otherwise unpaid parental leave. Employers must maintain the employee s benefits during parental leave. Employment benefits include health insurance, disability insurance, sick leave, annual leave, group life insurance, educational benefits and pensions. Upon return from leave, the employee must be restored to his or her original position or one equivalent to it in benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment. An employer may require written notice 30 days in advance of an employee s intended parental leave. No notice is required in the event of a premature birth or unexpected adoption or foster placement. SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a city with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. 3

63 Employee Leave Laws-Overview COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Maryland employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 4

64 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Massachusetts has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Call firefighter leave; Voting leave; Military leave; Small necessities leave; Parental and childcare leave; Victim and witness leave; Domestic violence leave; and Earned sick time. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Massachusetts employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for Massachusetts employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers must grant paid leave to all regularly employed employees for jury service. An employer must pay an employee regular wages for the first three days of juror service, unless a court excuses the employer from the duty to compensate because of extreme financial hardship. Additional requirements apply for night-shift employees. Call Firefighter Leave Employers must allow employees to be late or absent from work if they are volunteer firefighters who responded to an emergency that occurred outside of the employees normal work hours. Certification requirements apply. Leave is unpaid. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. 2011, Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AMS 5/17 Voting Leave All employers in the manufacturing, mechanical or mercantile industries must allow eligible employees to take leave to vote if employees request leave. An employee may request to leave work during the two hours after the polls open in the voting precinct, ward or town where the employee is entitled to vote.

65 Employee Leave Laws Overview Military Leave Small Necessities Leave In addition to USERRA, Massachusetts law provides the following job protections for military members: Discrimination protections for all military members; and Job protections for eligible veterans who wish to participate in Veteran s Day or Memorial Day events. Employers with 50 or more employees must provide paid leave to veterans participating in Veteran s Day activities (effective July 14, 2016). Employees must provide reasonable notice. Employers with fewer than 50 employees may provide leave paid or unpaid, at the employer s discretion. An employer with 50 or more employees must provide an eligible employee with up to 24 hours of small necessities leave during any 12- month period, in order to: Participate in school activities; Accompany a child to routine medical or dental appointments; or Accompany an elderly relative to routine medical, dental or other personal care-related appointments. To be eligible for small necessities leave, an employee must have been employed for at least one year and must have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12-month period prior to the start of leave. Notice and certification requirements apply. Parental and Childcare Leave Employers with six or more employees must provide eligible employees with maternity and childcare leave under the Maternity Leave Act (MLA). An eligible employee may take up to eight weeks of leave in order to give birth, adopt a child under the age of 18, or adopt a child under the age of 23, if the child is mentally or physically disabled. To be eligible for leave, an employee must have either: Completed the employer s initial probationary period of no more than three months; or If there is no set probationary period, been employed full time for at least three consecutive months. Job protections and notice requirements apply. Leave may be paid or unpaid, at the discretion of the employer. The MLA provides job-protected leave to eligible male employees, and provides that the placement of a child pursuant to a court order is a valid reason for leave. If two employees of the same employer require leave under the Act, the employees are entitled to a total of eight weeks of parental leave. If an employer agrees to provide parental leave for a period longer than eight weeks, it may not deny an employee reinstatement rights unless it clearly informed the employee in writing prior to the leave and prior to any extension of the leave that taking more than eight weeks of leave may result in the denial of job restoration and/or rights to benefits. Employers with 50 or more employees are also subject to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). When a leave is covered by both the FMLA and Massachusetts law, employers must apply the provisions that are more generous to employees. Massachusetts maternity and childcare leave runs concurrently with FMLA leave, if both the employer and employee are covered under FMLA. 2

66 Employee Leave Laws Overview Victim and Witness Leave Domestic Violence Leave An employer must grant leave to an employee who is a victim of or witness to a crime and who is subpoenaed to testify in a criminal proceeding. Notice requirements apply. An employer with 50 or more employees is required to provide up to 15 days of leave in any 12-month period for employees who are affected by domestic violence. Leave must be granted if the employee or the employee s family member is a victim of abusive behavior (including domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault and kidnapping). Employees may take leave to: Seek or obtain medical attention, counseling, victim services or legal assistance; Secure housing; Obtain a protective order from a court; Appear in court or before a grand jury; Meet with a district attorney or other law enforcement official; or Attend child custody proceedings or address other issues directly related to the abusive behavior against the employee or family member of the employee. Leave may be paid or unpaid, at the employer s discretion. In general, an employee seeking domestic violence leave must exhaust all annual or vacation leave, personal leave and sick leave available to him or her prior to requesting or taking domestic violence leave. However, an employer may waive this requirement. Family members include a spouse, persons in a dating or engagement relationship and reside together, a person the employee has a child with, a parent, step-parent, child, step-child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild or persons in a guardian relationship. Except in cases of imminent danger, an employee must provide advance notice of leave to the employer, as required by the employer s leave policy. An employer may require documentation to support the need for leave. Leave taken cannot result in the loss of any employment benefit accrued prior to the date leave began. Upon the employee s return from leave, the employee must be restored to his or her original job or to an equivalent position. In addition, an employer cannot discharge or in any other manner discriminate against an employee for exercising his or her rights to domestic violence leave. Covered employers must notify each employee of the rights and responsibilities provided by the law, including those related to notification requirements and confidentiality. Earned Sick Time All employers must allow employees to earn and use up to 40 hours of sick leave per calendar year. For employers with 11 or more employees, this leave must be paid. For employers with fewer than 11 employees, sick leave may be unpaid. Employees earn a minimum of one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours per calendar year. Earned sick leave may be used to: Care for a physical or mental illness, injury or medical condition affecting an employee or his or her child, spouse, parent or parent- 3

67 Employee Leave Laws Overview in-law; Attend routine medical appointments of the employee or his or her child, spouse, parent or parent-in-law; or Address the effects of domestic violence on the employee and his or her dependent child. An employer may restrict the use of accrued sick leave for an employee s first 90 days of employment. Employees must be permitted to carry over up to 40 hours of earned but unused sick leave into the next calendar year. However, an employer is not required to allow an employee to use more than 40 hours in a calendar year. An employer may require medical documentation from an employee who is absent for more than 24 consecutive work hours. However, an employer may not delay or deny sick leave if the documentation is not received. SPECIAL NOTES: The Massachusetts law providing leave and reemployment rights to members of the U.S. Armed Forces for military training was repealed (effective Dec. 2, 2014). Discrimination protections and Veteran s leave protections remain in place. Please note that the information in this chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities and counties across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a city with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Massachusetts employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 4

68 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Law - Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Michigan has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Crime victim leave; Military service leave; Maternity leave; and Disability leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Michigan s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers may not discharge or discipline an employee for taking time off from work to serve on a jury. Leave is generally unpaid; however, some municipalities may provide additional protection for employees called to jury duty. Employers should check local ordinances in the areas where they do business. Employers generally may not require an employee to work additional hours in a day if, when added to jury duty hours, the total time would exceed the number of hours the employee normally works. Crime Victim Leave An employee who is a victim of a crime or a representative of a crime victim is entitled to take time off from work to testify in or attend a judicial proceeding. Leave is unpaid. A victim representative is: The guardian or custodian of a child of a deceased victim, if the child is under 18 years of age; The parent, guardian or custodian of a victim of an assaultive crime, if the victim is under 18 years of age; or This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. A person designated to act in place of a victim of an assaultive crime while the victim is physically or emotionally disabled. Employee protections apply. 2013, Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/13; AMS 10/16

69 Employee Leave Law - Overview Military Service Leave Maternity Leave Disability Leave In addition to USERRA, Michigan law provides employment protections for Michigan and U.S. military members. Employers must provide temporary unpaid leave to military service members for periods of military service, training or induction into the military. Advance notice is required. Nondiscrimination protections and reemployment rights for military service members following military service leave. Nondiscrimination requirements apply to all employers. Female employees who are affected by childbirth or related medical conditions must be treated the same for all employment-related purposes (including receipt of benefits under fringe benefit program) as other persons not affected by pregnancy, but similar in their ability or inability to work. Employers are also prohibited from terminating a woman s employment because of her pregnancy. Employers may not discriminate against an employee on the basis of an employee s disability that is unrelated to the individual s ability to perform the essential duties of a particular job or position. A person with a disability is someone with a determinable physical or mental characteristic resulting from disease, injury, congenital condition of birth or functional disorder which substantially limits a major life activity. Employers must provide disabled employees reasonable accommodation for their disabilities. SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a city with a local paid sick leave law must comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Michigan employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

70 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Minnesota has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Witness and crime victim leave; Election leave; Domestic abuse leave; Military and military family leave; Civil air patrol leave; Bone marrow donation leave; and Parenting leave (as amended by the Women s Economic Security Act). This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Minnesota s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers cannot discharge, threaten or coerce an employee because the employee received or responded to a summons, served as a juror or attended court for prospective jury service. Notice requirements apply. Leave may be paid or unpaid, at the employer s discretion. Witness and Crime Victim Leave Employers must allow a witness or victim of a crime, or the spouse or family member of a victim of a violent crime, a reasonable amount of time off from work to attend criminal proceedings related to the victim s case if the employee is subpoenaed or requested by the prosecutor to attend court for the purposes of giving testimony. Notice and certification requirements apply. Leave may be paid or unpaid, at the employer s discretion. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. 2012, Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. 10/12; AS 11/16

71 Employee Leave Laws Overview Election Leave Domestic Abuse Leave Employers must permit certain employees to take time off from work without penalty, as follows: Eligible voters are entitled to be absent from work for the time necessary to appear at the employee s polling place, cast a ballot and return to work on the day of an election. Leave is paid. Employees who are selected to serve as an election judge are eligible to take sufficient time off from work to serve as an election judge. Notice and certification requirements apply. Leave is unpaid. Employees who are appointed by a major political party to be a state central committee member or executive committee member may be absent from work to attend any of the committee s meetings. Notice and certification requirements apply. Leave is unpaid. Employees who are appointed by a major political party to be a convention delegate or alternative convention delegate may be absent from work to attend any delegates convention, including official convention committee meetings. Notice and certification requirements apply. Leave is unpaid. Employers must allow a victim of domestic abuse or harassment a reasonable amount of time off from work to obtain a protective order or harassment restraining order. Notice and certification requirements apply. Leave may be paid or unpaid, at the employer s discretion. Military and Military Family Leave Civil Air Patrol Leave In addition to USERRA, Minnesota law provides employment protections for Minnesota and U.S. military members. National Guard members are entitled to up to four years of unpaid leave to engage in active military service during times of state-declared emergencies. Employers must grant up to 10 working days of unpaid leave to an employee who is an immediate family member of a member of the U.S. armed forces that has been injured or killed while engaged in active service. Employers must grant up to one day per calendar year of unpaid leave to an employee who is an immediate family member of a member of the U.S. armed forces that has been ordered to active service. Nondiscrimination protections for all military service members and their families. Employers with at least 20 employees working in at least one site must provide an unpaid leave of absence to any employee who: Is a Civil Air Patrol member; Performs services for the employer for an average of 20 or more hours per week; and Renders service in his or her capacity as a Civil Air Patrol member on the request and under the authority of the state or any of its political subdivisions. 2

72 Employee Leave Laws Overview Bone Marrow Donation Leave Parenting Leave Employers with 20 or more employees working in at least one site must provide eligible employees with paid leave for bone marrow donation. Employees are eligible for bone marrow donation leave if they: Perform services for hire for an employer for an average of 20 or more hours per week; and Seek to undergo a medical procedure to donate bone marrow. Leave may be taken intermittently, but may not exceed 40 work hours, unless the employer agrees otherwise. Certification requirements apply. Employers with 21 or more employees working in at least one site must provide eligible employees with parenting leave in certain circumstances. The Women s Economic Security Act (WESA) amended Minnesota s parenting leave laws, effective July 1, To be eligible for parenting leave an employee must have worked for the employer for: At least 12 months (except employees taking school activities leave); and An average number of hours per week equal to one-half the hours required of a full-time equivalent position (half time) for 12 months. An eligible employee is entitled up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Employees are entitled to use any available sick leave benefits provided by the employer to care for a child, adult child, spouse, sibling, parent, grandparent, stepparent, mother-in-law, father-in-law or grandchild who is sick or injured. In addition, an employee may use any personal sick leave benefits to: Take safety leave (whether or not the employer allows use of sick leave for that purpose) for assistance to the employee or to his or her relatives. Safety leave is leave taken for the purpose of providing or receiving assistance because of sexual assault, domestic abuse or stalking. An employer must provide reasonable accommodations to an employee for health conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, if the employee requests it (with the advice of her licensed health care provider or certified doula). In addition, all employers must provide employees with up to 16 hours of unpaid leave during any 12-month period to attend their child s school conferences or school-related activities. Finally, employers who permit paternity or maternity leave for biological parents must, upon request, grant a leave of absence to an adoptive parent to arrange a child s placement or care for the child after placement. Job protections apply to employees taking parenting leave. SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a city with a local paid sick leave law must comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. 3

73 Employee Leave Laws Overview COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Minnesota employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 4

74 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Mississippi has employee leave laws regarding jury duty leave and military leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Mississippi s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave Military Leave REQUIREMENTS An employer may not attempt to interfere with an employee s jury service by threats or intimidation, or otherwise subject the employee to adverse employment action as a result of jury service. Employees must notify their employers within a reasonable amount of time after receiving a summons for jury service. An employer may not require an employee to use annual, vacation or sick leave for any time spent in connection with jury service. In addition to USERRA, Mississippi provides reemployment rights for returning military members. Members of the United States Armed Forces or persons in active state duty must be permitted an unpaid leave for military duty or training. Upon release or discharge from military duty or training (other than dishonorable conditions), military members must be reinstated to their positions or to similar positions with equal status, pay and seniority. SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a city with a local paid sick leave law must comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Mississippi employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 8/15; Rev. 8/17

75 Employee Leave Laws-Overview As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

76 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Missouri has employee leave laws regarding: Voting leave; and Jury duty leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Missouri s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Voting Leave Jury Duty Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers must allow employees three hours of paid leave to vote on an election day, if the employees applied for leave prior to election day. Leave is not available if an employee s work schedule provides three consecutive hours of nonworking time when the polls are open. Employers may specify the hours employees may take leave to vote. Employees are entitled to leave to respond to a jury summons, participate in the jury selection process and serve on a jury, without any retaliatory adverse action by their employers. Employers may not require employees to use annual, vacation, personal or sick leave for any time spent responding to a jury summons, including serving on a jury. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Missouri employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; 2015 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. Rev. 6/17

77 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

78 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Montana has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Leave for employees holding public office; Military leave; and Maternity leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Montana s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for Montana employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave Leave for Employees Holding Public Office REQUIREMENTS Montana law does not have a leave provision for private employers. However, an employer must allow an employee time off to serve as a juror. Leave is not required to be paid. An employer who employs 10 or more employees must grant employees who are elected or appointed to a public office up to 180 days of unpaid leave per year in order to perform public services. An employee who returns to work within 10 days following his or her public service must be restored to his or her position with the same seniority, status, compensation, hours, locality and benefits as existed prior to the leave. In addition to USERRA, Montana law prohibits discrimination against members of the national guard (of any state) and provides the following job protections: Members ordered to federally-funded military duty are entitled to the same reemployment rights and benefits as provided under USERRA. Military Leave Members ordered to state military duty are entitled to a leave of absence for the period of state military duty. The leave may not be deducted from any sick, vacation, military or other accrued leave, unless employees desire it. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. Reemployment rights apply after leave for state military duty, with the same seniority, status, pay, health insurance, pension and other benefits as the member would have accrued if not on leave for state military duty. Members must request reemployment within a timely manner after state active duty, based on length of state military service Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 7/15; Rev. 7/17

79 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Maternity Leave All employers must grant employees reasonable leave due to pregnancy. An employee returning from maternity leave must be reinstated to her original position or an equivalent position with equal pay, seniority, retirement, fringe benefits and other service credits, unless the employer s circumstances have changed so as to make reemployment impossible or unreasonable. An employer may not terminate an employee because of pregnancy and may not deny an employee who is disabled due to pregnancy any compensation the employee is entitled to under disability or leave benefits. An employer may not require an employee to take a mandatory maternity leave for an unreasonable length of time. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Montana employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate federal or state leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of this compliance review employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

80 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Nebraska has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Voting leave; Emergency responder leave; Adoption leave; and Family military leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Nebraska s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave Voting Leave REQUIREMENTS An employer must allow paid leave for any employee who is summoned to serve on jury duty for the duration of the jury service. An employer may deduct an employee s pay by an amount equal to the compensation the employee received from the court for jury service. Employers may not discharge or otherwise penalize employees due to an absence related to jury duty. Employees who are registered voters must be allowed up to two consecutive hours of paid time off from work to vote on an election day. Employees must apply for leave in advance of election day, and the employer may specify the hours which the employee may take leave. Employees who have at least two consecutive hours of non-work time when the polls are open to vote are not eligible for leave. In addition, allowing an employee less than two hours of leave is permissible if the time away from work combined with the employee s non-work time is at least two consecutive hours between the opening and closing of the polls. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. 2015, 2017 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AMS 2/17 Emergency Responder Leave Employers are prohibited from terminating or taking any adverse action against an employee who is a volunteer emergency responder and is absent or late to work due to responding to an emergency in their volunteer capacity. To be eligible for this protection, the employee must have been deployed prior to the time the employee was to report to work.

81 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Adoptive Parent Leave If an employer has a policy that allows for an employee to take a leave of absence upon the birth of the employee s child, then the employer is required to provide an adoptive parent the same leave on the same terms following the placement of the child with the employee. Leave is not required to be granted if: The child being adopted is a special needs child over 18 years old; The child is over 8 years old and is not a special needs child; The child is a stepchild being adopted by his or her stepparent; The child is a foster child being adopted by his or her foster parent; or The child was originally under a voluntary placement for purposes other than adoption without assistance from an attorney, physician or other individual or agency which later results in a petition for the adoption of the child by the person with whom the voluntary placement was made. Family Military Leave Act Employers with 15 or more employees must allow eligible employees unpaid family military leave if the employee is a spouse or parent of a person called to military service lasting 179 days or longer. Employers with 15 to 50 employees must provide up to 15 days of unpaid leave to an eligible employee during the time federal or state deployment orders are in effect. Employers with more than 50 employees must provide up to 30 days of unpaid leave to an eligible employee during the time federal or state deployment orders are in effect. To be eligible for family military leave, an employee must have been employed for at least 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours for a covered employer during the 12-month period preceding the leave. Employers must allow employees on leave to continue their benefits at the employee s expense. Additionally, an employee may not lose any employment benefit accrued prior taking family military leave. Employees returning from family military leave must be restored to the position held prior to the leave or to a position with the same status, benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment. Employees seeking leave are required to give notice and employers may require documentation to verify an employee s leave request. SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous local ordinances have been enacted across the country that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer that is located in a city or county with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Nebraska employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate federal or state leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: 2

82 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 3

83 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Nevada has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Voting leave; Parental leave for school-related activities; Maternity leave; and Victims of domestic violence leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Nevada s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave REQUIREMENTS An employer may not terminate or threaten to terminate an employee for serving as a juror or prospective juror. An employee cannot be required to use sick leave or vacation time to cover any leave taken for jury duty. An employer may not require an employee to work within the eight hours before the employee is to appear for jury duty. Additionally, an employee who served for four or more hours in a day cannot be required to work between 5 p.m. that day and 3 a.m. the following day. Voting Leave An employer must grant an employee sufficient time away from work in order to vote. Sufficient time is based on the distance from the worksite to the polling location, not exceeding three hours. An employee must request leave to vote prior to the day of the election. Employers may designate the hours the employee may take leave to vote. Voting leave must be paid. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. 2015, 2017 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/15; AS 7/17 Parental Leave for School-related Activities Employers with 50 or more employees must grant employees with children up to four hours of unpaid leave per school year to attend parent-teacher conferences, school activities or school-sponsored events, or to volunteer or be involved at the school during school hours. Leave must be taken in at least one hour increments at a time agreed to by the employer and employee. Notice and documentation requirements apply. An employer may not terminate or threaten to terminate an employee who is a parent, guardian or custodian of a child for taking leave to attend a conference at the request of a school administrator, or because the employee was notified by the school during the workday of an emergency regarding the child.

84 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Maternity Leave Effective Oct. 1, 2017, the Nevada Pregnant Workers' Fairness Act (Act) expands pregnant employees rights in the workplace. Notice requirements apply, effective June, 2, The Act covers employers with 15 or more employees and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers, including leave from work. The Act amends and expands the provisions under the Fair Employment Practices Act. If an employer provides leave (paid or unpaid) without loss of seniority to employees due to sickness or disability, it is unlawful for an employer to fail or refuse to extend the same benefits to any female employee for a condition related to pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition. The employee must be able to use available leave before and after childbirth, miscarriage or other natural resolution of her pregnancy. However, it unlawful for an employer to require an employee who is affected by a condition relating to pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition to take leave from work, if another reasonable accommodation is available that will enable the employee to continue working. Employers with 50 or more employees are also subject to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which requires up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for eligible female employees due to childbirth and related conditions. Effective Jan. 1, 2018, employers must allow eligible employees (those employed with the employer for at least 90 days) to take up to 160 hours of domestic violence leave. Eligible employees must be provided leave for the following circumstances: Victims of Domestic Violence Leave For the diagnosis, care or treatment of a health condition related to domestic violence against the employee or the employee s family or household member; To obtain counseling or assistance related to an act of domestic violence; To participate in any court proceedings; or To establish a safety plan, including (without limitation) any action to increase the safety of the employee or the employee s family or household member from a future act of domestic violence. Family or household member is defined as a spouse, domestic partner, minor child or parent or other adult person who is related within the first degree of consanguinity or affinity to the employee, or other adult person who is or was actually residing with the employee at the time of the domestic violence. Leave may be taken consecutively or intermittently. It may be paid or unpaid. Leave for domestic violence must run concurrently with leave under the federal FMLA, when applicable. An employee is only eligible for up to 160 hours of leave within the 12-month period immediately following the date an act of domestic violence occurred. After taking any hours of leave due to the occurrence of domestic violence, an employee must provide 48 hours advance notice to his or her employer of the need to use additional hours of leave. An employer may require documentation to support the need for leave such as police reports, a copy of an application for an order of protection, an affidavit from an organization that provides services to victims of domestic violence or documentation from a physician. Any documentation must be kept confidential. Employee protections and employer notice requirements apply. 2

85 Employee Leave Laws-Overview In addition, absent undue hardship, employers must provide employees affected by domestic violence with reasonable accommodations. Possible reasonable accommodations may include a transfer or reassignment, modified work schedule, a new telephone number for work or any other reasonable accommodation deemed necessary to ensure the safety of the employee, the workplace, the employer or other employees. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Nevada employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 3

86 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, New Hampshire has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Rescue member leave during a state of emergency; Crime victim leave; and Pregnancy disability leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of New Hampshire s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave Leave Authorized in a State of Emergency REQUIREMENTS An employer may not terminate, threaten or coerce an employee regarding his or her employment because the employee receives and responds to a summons, serves as a juror or attends court for prospective jury service. An employer must allow an employee who is a member of a fire department, rescue squad or emergency medical services agency to take unpaid leave if called to service during a declared state of emergency. Employees may choose to use vacation or other accrued leave for the period of emergency service, but employers may not require employees to do so. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 8/15; Rev. 8/17 Crime Victim Employment Leave An employer with 25 or more employees must allow an employee who is a victim of a crime to take unpaid leave so that the employee may attend court or other proceedings associated with the crime. An employee may choose to use accrued vacation, personal or sick leave time, or the employer may require the employee to do so. Employees are subject to notice and documentation requirements. An employer may only limit leave to the extent that an employee s absence creates an undue hardship on the employer. Employers may not retaliate or discriminate against employees who exercise their right to take leave.

87 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Pregnancy Disability Leave Employers with six or more employees are subject to New Hampshire s Law Against Discrimination, which requires a covered employer to provide a female employee with leave from work due to physical disability resulting from pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions for the duration of such disability. When the employee is ready to return to work, she must be restored to her original position (or a comparable position). Pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions must be considered temporary disabilities for all employment-related purposes (including receipt of fringe benefits), and employees must be treated the same as any employee affected by any other temporary disability. Employers with 50 or more employees are also subject to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave due to childbirth. SPECIAL NOTE: New Hampshire does not require private employers to grant military leave rights beyond those required by the federal law USERAA. However, private employers are encouraged to grant military leave privileges comparable to the military leave privileges established for public employees. These privileges include 15 days of paid leave for military training, drill or temporary duty, and up to an additional 30 days of partially paid leave if the employee exhausts the 15 days of paid leave. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for New Hampshire employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

88 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, New Jersey has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Military leave; Family leave; Domestic and sexual violence leave; and Emergency responders leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of New Jersey s employee leave laws, and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave Military Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers must allow employees to take unpaid leave for time spent complying with a jury summons. An employer may not discharge, penalize, threaten or otherwise coerce an employee because he or she is required to attend court for jury service. In addition to USERRA, New Jersey law provides reemployment rights to U.S. or state military service members. The law protects any employee who leaves work, other than a temporary position, to do any of the following: Complete military service for the U.S. armed forces; Participate in military assemblies or annual training; Attend service schools conducted by the U.S. armed forces for up to three months in a four-year period. Following active duty, an employee must be reinstated to the same or similar position he or she previously held. If this is not possible, the employee must be restored to any available position for which he or she is qualified, upon request. The employee may not be discharged without cause for one year after reemployment. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. In general, an employee must apply for reemployment within 90 days after completing military service, and must provide a certificate of completion from an officer of the military force. However, employees who participate in annual training, military assemblies or service schools must apply for reemployment within 10 days after completing the training or service school Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 4/17

89 Employee Leave Laws Overview New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) In addition to the federal FMLA, the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) entitles eligible employees to take time off for family and medical reasons. All employers with 50 or more employees must comply with the NJFLA for their New Jersey employees. To be eligible for leave under the NJFLA, an employee must: Be employed in New Jersey by a covered employer; Have been employed for at least 12 months for the employer; and Have worked 1,000 hours in the 12 months prior to the leave. An eligible employee may take 12 weeks of family leave within any 24-month period for the birth of the employee s child, a child s placement for adoption with the employee or the serious health condition of an employee s family member. Leave may be paid, unpaid or a combination. Employers may require employees to exhaust accrued paid leave, if required for other types of leaves. Leave for birth or adoption may be taken intermittently or on a reduced-leave schedule only if agreed to by the employee and the employer. The 24-month period may be measured as: Two calendar years; A fixed 24-month period starting on a specified date, such as the employer s fiscal year or the anniversary of the employee s date of hire; The 24-month period beginning on the first day of the employee s first NJFLA leave; or A rolling 24-month period, measured backward from the date of any NJFLA leave. When leave is covered by both the FMLA and the NJFLA, the leaves run concurrently. New Jersey SAFE Act The New Jersey Security and Financial Empowerment (SAFE) Act requires a covered employer (one with 25 or more employees) to provide an eligible employee with unpaid leave following any incident of domestic violence or sexually violent offense against the employee or the employee s child, parent, spouse, domestic partner or civil union partner. To be eligible for leave under the SAFE Act, employees must have: Been employed for at least 12 months; and Worked no less than 1,000 hours during the preceding 12-month period. An employee is entitled to take up to 20 days of unpaid leave within one year of the qualifying event in order to get medical attention, obtain services from victim services organizations, obtain psychological or other counseling, safety planning (such as relocation), seek legal assistance, or to attend or participate in preparation for court proceedings. An employer may require documentation of the domestic violence or sexually violent offense. Employees must give as much advance notice to employers for the need to take leave as is reasonable. Employees may elect, or employers may require, use of accrued paid leave, if required for other leaves. If the leave qualifies under both the NJFLA and FMLA, the leaves will run concurrently. 2

90 Employee Leave Laws Overview Emergency Responders Employment Protection Act An employer may not terminate, dismiss or suspend any employee who is absent from work due to service in his or her volunteer capacity as a volunteer emergency responder. Volunteer emergency responders include any active member in good standing of a: Volunteer fire company; Duly incorporated first-aid, rescue or ambulance squad; or County or municipal volunteer Office of Emergency Management (provided the member s official duties include responding to a fire or emergency call). Leave is unpaid; there is no limit on the amount an eligible employee can take. However, if leave exceeds one workday, daily notice from the incident commander is required. Employees must give their employers at least one-hour advance notice of their absence from work to fulfill emergency services in response to a declared state of emergency or emergency alarm. In addition, employees must provide their employers with documentation verifying their absence was related to volunteer emergency services. SPECIAL NOTE: Under the Family Leave Insurance provision (sometimes referred to as the Paid Family Leave Law) of the New Jersey Temporary Disability Benefits law, cash benefits may be payable for up to six weeks to an employee in order for the employee to bond with a newborn or newly adopted child or to provide care for a seriously ill family member. All employers subject to New Jersey Unemployment Compensation laws are covered. Eligible employees are entitled to up to six weeks of benefit payments from the state or private plan at two-thirds of the employee s weekly wage up to a maximum per week. The program is a wage replacement program funded by worker payroll deductions and is separate from the federal FMLA or NJFLA leave laws, which govern the terms of employee and family medical leaves. New Jersey employers should also be aware that numerous cities (including Jersey City, Newark, Passaic, East Orange, Paterson, Irvington, Montclair, Trenton and Bloomfield) have passed sick leave ordinances that require private employers in those cities to provide employees covered by the ordinance with sick leave. Many of these ordinances require sick leave to be paid. An employer located in one of these cities should review the applicable local ordinance to determine its obligations. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for New Jersey employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 3

91 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Law-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, New Mexico has employee leave laws regarding: Voting leave; Jury duty leave; Volunteer emergency responder leave; Domestic abuse leave; Military leave; and Pregnancy leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of New Mexico s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Voting Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers must allow employees up to two hours of leave to vote on an election day. However, voting leave is not required for an employee whose workday begins two or more hours after the polls open or ends three or more hours before the polls close. An employer may designate the hours an employee may take leave to vote. An employee who takes leave to vote may not be liable for any penalty. The Attorney General has stated the law requires up to two hours of voting leave to be paid for hourly workers. Jury Duty Leave An employer may not terminate, threaten or coerce an employee who receives a jury summons or serves on a jury. Employers cannot require employees to use annual, vacation or sick leave for time spent serving on a jury. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 8/15; Rev. 8/17 Volunteer Emergency Responder Leave Employers must grant unpaid leave to volunteer emergency responders in order to respond to emergencies or disasters. Employees are responsible for properly notifying their employers and providing documentation of the leave. An employee who takes leave for this purpose may not be terminated, demoted or discriminated against in any manner of employment. However, protection from termination does not apply if the employee is absent for more than 10 business days in a calendar year.

92 Employee Leave Law-Overview Every employer must provide leave to an employee who: Domestic Abuse Leave Military Leave Is a victim of domestic abuse; or Has a family member (including the employee s minor child or a person for whom the employee is a legal guardian) who is a victim of domestic abuse. Domestic abuse leave is intermittent leave of up to 14 days (paid or unpaid) in a calendar year. An employee may take domestic abuse leave for up to eight hours in one day in order to: Obtain an order of protection or other judicial relief from domestic abuse; Meet with law enforcement officials; Consult with attorneys or district attorneys victim advocates; or Attend court proceedings related to the domestic abuse. When domestic abuse leave is taken in an emergency, the employee (or his or her designee) must notify the employer within 24 hours of taking leave. An employer may require verification of the need for leave, including a police report, order of protection or other court evidence, or a written statement from an attorney or another person who is representing the employee in connection with domestic abuse. An employee must be allowed to use accrued sick leave or other available paid time, compensatory time or unpaid leave, consistent with an employer s policies. The employer must continue an employee s health insurance coverage and other accrued benefits during domestic abuse leave. Any leave taken by an employee may not be considered when calculating his or her eligibility for benefits. Employers may not retaliate against any employee who takes domestic abuse leave. Any information obtained regarding an employee s incident of domestic abuse must remain confidential. In addition to the federal law USERRA, New Mexico law provides the following job protections for military members: A member of the United States Armed Forces, National Guard or organized reserve who serves on active duty and is honorably discharged or released from duty must be reinstated to his or her original position (or to a position of like seniority, status and pay). The member must apply for reemployment within 90 days after being relieved from service or hospitalization (unless hospitalization after discharge lasted more than one year). Upon reemployment, the military member may not lose seniority and is entitled to participate in insurance or other benefits offered by the employer. Returning military members may not be discharged without cause within one year after reemployment. An employer may not refuse to hire, penalize or discharge any person due to his or her membership in the National Guard, or prevent the member from performing military service. 2

93 Employee Leave Law-Overview Pregnancy Leave The New Mexico Human Rights Act covers employers with four or more employees, and, among other things, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions). Covered employers must treat women affected by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions the same as other persons who are temporarily disabled for all employment-related purposes, including the receipt of benefits under fringe benefit programs. Employers with 50 or more employees are also subject to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period due to childbirth. SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities and counties across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a city or county with a local paid sick leave law must comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for New Mexico employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine if they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 3

94 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, New York has employee leave laws regarding: Civic duty leave; Adoptive parents leave; Voting leave; Military and military spouse leave; Bone marrow and blood donation leave; Bereavement leave; Emergency responder leave; and Paid family leave (effective Jan. 1, 2018). This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of New York s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Civic Duty Leave REQUIREMENTS An employee who is summoned to serve as a juror is eligible to take unpaid leave for the period of jury service. Employers with more than 10 employees cannot withhold the first $40 of the juror s daily wages during the first three days of jury service. Notice and certification requirements apply. Employers must allow employees who are crime victims or are subpoenaed as witnesses in criminal proceedings to take time off from work to attend the criminal proceedings. Leave is unpaid. Notice and certification requirements apply. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/17 Adoptive Parents Leave Employers must give employees who adopt a child the same leave benefits given to employees for the birth of a child, if the adopted child is either: Younger than school age (under five years old); or Hard to place or handicapped and under 18 years old. Employers cannot retaliate against an employee for exercising his or her right to adoptive parents leave.

95 Employee Leave Laws Overview Voting Leave An employee who does not have enough time to vote outside of his or her working hours is entitled to take as much time off from work as necessary to vote, taking into account any voting time available to the employee outside of working hours. Up to two hours of the employee s voting leave must be paid. Notice and posting requirements apply. Military and Military Spouse Leave Bone Marrow and Blood Donation Leave Bereavement Leave Volunteer Emergency Responder Leave Paid family leave In addition to USERRA, New York law provides employment protections for New York and U.S. military members. Reemployment rights for U.S. and state military service members. Employers with 20 or more employees working in at least one worksite must grant up to 10 days of unpaid leave to an employee who is a spouse of a military service member who has been deployed during a period of military conflict. Eligible employees must have worked for a covered employer for an average of 20 or more hours per week. Leave may only be taken while the military service member is on leave from deployment. Employers with 20 or more employees working in at least one worksite must provide eligible employees with leave for bone marrow and blood donation. Employees are eligible for bone marrow or blood donation leave if they: Work for a covered employer for an average of 20 or more hours per week; and Seek to donate bone marrow or blood. Leave for bone marrow donation may be taken in one or more periods, but may not exceed 24 work hours for each bone marrow donation. The leave period for blood donation varies depending on whether the donation takes place on or off of the employer s premises. Notice and certification requirements apply. Leave may be paid or unpaid, at the employer s discretion. Employers are not required to provide funeral or bereavement leave for employees. If employers allow employees to take funeral or bereavement leave for the death of the employee s spouse, or the child, parent or other relative of the employee s spouse, the employer must provide the same leave to an employee for the death of the employee s same-sex committed partner, or the child, parent or other relative of that partner. Employees who are volunteer firefighters or members of a volunteer ambulance service must be granted an unpaid leave from work while engaged in their volunteer duties in response to a declared emergency. To be eligible, an employee must have previously provided his or her employer with written documentation of the employee s volunteer status. Additionally, the employer may request documentation of the employee s volunteer service during the leave period. The employee may elect to substitute the unpaid leave with other accrued vacation or paid leave available to the employee. New York s paid family leave law requires private sector employers to provide paid family leave benefits to eligible employees starting Jan. 1,

96 Employee Leave Laws Overview The paid family leave benefits will be funded through employee paycheck deductions. Employers are not responsible for contributing to or funding paid family leave benefits, but may choose to do so. Coverage for paid family leave benefits will typically be included under an employer s existing disability benefits policy. Under the law, employees must receive: Wage replacement benefits for up to eight weeks of leave in 2018, increasing to 12 weeks by 2021; Job reinstatement upon return from paid family leave; and Continuation of health insurance while out on paid family leave. An employer may not discriminate or retaliate against employees for taking or inquiring about paid family leave. Employers will be required to conspicuously post a notice in the workplace to indicate their compliance with the paid family leave requirements. In addition, employers must provide employees who take eight or more consecutive days of family leave with a written notice of their rights under the paid family leave law. Employers that maintain an employee handbook must include a paid family leave policy that outlines employees rights and obligations, including how to file a claim for paid family leave. An employer that does not maintain a handbook must provide each employee with a written notice regarding all of the employee's rights and obligations under the paid family leave law, including information on how to file a claim for paid family leave. Please note that the information in this chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a city with a local paid sick leave law must comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for New York employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits, and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe the different types of employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 3

97 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, North Carolina has employee leave laws regarding: Parental involvement leave; Jury duty leave; Military leave; and Domestic violence leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of North Carolina s employee leave laws, and suggests compliance steps for North Carolina employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Parental Involvement Leave Jury Duty Leave REQUIREMENTS Employees may take up to four hours of unpaid leave per year to attend or otherwise be involved at their child s school. These requirements apply to any employee that is: A parent; A guardian; or Standing in loco parentis (in the place of a parent). Employee notice and verification requirements apply. Employers must provide unpaid leave to employees summoned to jury service. An employer may require verification of the employee s jury service. Job protections apply to employees taking jury duty leave. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. 2012, Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 5/17 Military Leave In addition to USERRA, North Carolina law provides the following job protections for military members: Reemployment rights for members of the North Carolina National Guard (or of another state) who are honorably discharged; Discrimination protections for members of the National Guard; and Leave for members of the U.S. military for emergency military duty.

98 Employee Leave Laws Overview Domestic Violence Leave Employers must permit employees to take a reasonable amount of time off of work to obtain a protective order or other relief under North Carolina domestic violence law. Leave is unpaid. Job protections apply to employees taking domestic violence leave. SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in this chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities and counties across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a city with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for North Carolina employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

99 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, North Dakota has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty and witness leave; Volunteer emergency responder leave; Voting leave; Legislative service leave; and Pregnancy disability leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of North Dakota s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty and Witness Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers must allow employees time off from work for jury duty or to serve as witnesses. An employer may not discharge, lay off, penalize, threaten or otherwise coerce an employee because the employee responds to a summons or subpoena, serves as a juror or witness, or attends court for jury service or to give testimony pursuant to a subpoena. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. 2015, 2017 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 5/17 Volunteer Emergency Responder Leave Voting Leave An employer may not terminate, demote or discriminate against an employee who is late or absent from work because he or she was responding to a disaster or emergency in his or her capacity as a volunteer emergency responder. Exceptions apply to employers who perform critical emergency services during a disaster or emergency or where the volunteer emergency responder is considered critical to the employer s operations. An employee responding to an emergency or disaster must make reasonable efforts to notify his or her employer if he or she will be late or absent from work. Any time missed by the employee is unpaid. Employers may request verification of the employee s volunteer emergency service. These protections do not apply to volunteer emergency responders who are late or absent from work for more than 20 working days in a calendar year (except for involuntarily activated National Guard members). Employers are encouraged to allow employees time off from work to vote when an employee s work schedule conflicts with the time the polls are open.

100 Employee Leave Laws Overview Legislative Service Leave Pregnancy Disability Leave An employer may grant unpaid leave to an employee who is a member of the legislative assembly to serve during any regular or special session, or to attend a meeting of the legislative management or any of its committees. An employer may reduce or eliminate the payment of any additional benefits the employee normally receives while the employee is performing legislative service. The North Dakota Human Rights Act applies to all employers and prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, marital or public assistance status or participation in lawful off-duty conduct. The definition of sex includes pregnancy, childbirth and related disabilities. Pregnancy must be treated the same as other temporary disabilities, including with respect to the commencement and duration of leave, availability of extensions, the accrual of seniority and other benefits while on leave and job reinstatement. SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in this chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities and counties across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a city with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for North Dakota employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

101 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, such as vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Ohio has employee leave laws regarding: Civic duty leave; Military leave; Military family leave; and Maternity leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Ohio s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Civic Duty Leave REQUIREMENTS Voting Leave: Employers may not discharge, or threaten to discharge, or inflict any injury, harm or loss on, an employee for taking a reasonable amount of time to vote on election day. Jury Duty Leave: Employers may not discharge, threaten to discharge, or take any disciplinary action that could lead to discharge of any permanent employee who takes time off from work for jury service. Leave is unpaid. Employees must provide reasonable advance notice of jury duty. Judicial Witness Leave: Employers cannot: Discharge, threaten to discharge, or penalize employees who take time off from work because they are subpoenaed for juvenile delinquency, grand jury or criminal proceedings. Discharge, discipline or otherwise retaliate against crime victims, or their family members or representatives, for preparing for or attending a criminal or delinquency proceeding pursuant to a subpoena. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. Leave is unpaid, unless offense is against the employer or involves an employee during the scope of his or her work. 2011, 2016 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. 12/11; AS 12/16

102 Employee Leave Laws Overview Military Leave Military Family Leave Maternity Leave In addition to USERRA, Ohio has laws providing protections for military service members as follows: Reinstatement and employment rights for employees who are absent from work due to service in the U.S. uniformed services or Ohio organized militia. Nondiscrimination requirements applicable to employers with four or more employees. Continuation of health benefits for reservists, including National Guard members, called to active duty. Employers with 50 or more employees must provide eligible employees with unpaid military family leave. To be eligible, an employee must: Be the spouse, parent, legal guardian or former legal guardian of a person who is a member of the uniformed services and is (1) called into active duty for a period longer than 30 days, or (2) injured wounded or hospitalized while serving on active duty; and Have been employed by the same employer for at least 12 consecutive months, and must have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately before the leave. Once per calendar year, eligible employees may take up to 10 days or 80 hours, whichever is less, of military family leave. Employees must use up all other types of available leave, except sick leave or disability leave, before taking a military family leave. Job protections apply to employees taking leave. Advance notice requirements apply, except when the family member s injury, wound or hospitalization is critical or life-threatening. Nondiscrimination requirements apply to employers with four or more employees. Female employees of covered employers who are affected by childbirth, or related medical conditions must be treated the same for all employment-related purposes as other persons not affected by pregnancy, but similar in their ability or inability to work. SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer located in a city with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Ohio employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize this risk, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and that they receive ongoing training; 2

103 Employee Leave Laws Overview Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 3

104 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Oklahoma has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Voting leave; and Military leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Oklahoma s employee leave laws, and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave Voting Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers must provide unpaid leave to employees who are summoned for jury duty. Employers may not terminate, remove or otherwise subject employees to any adverse employment actions as a result of jury service. Employees may not be required to use vacation or sick leave for time spent completing jury service. Employees who are registered voters must be allowed up to two hours of paid time off from work to vote. However, employees must receive sufficient time necessary to vote if they require more than two hours (travel time). Leave is not available if the employee s work shift: Begins three or more hours after the polls open; or Ends three or more hours before the polls close. Employees must provide notice to their employers the day before the election if they require time off to vote. Employers may specify the hours employees may leave work to vote. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. Rev. 6/17 Military Leave In addition to USERRA, Oklahoma provides job protections for state and U.S. military members, including reserve forces: Employers may not discharge or otherwise discriminate against employees due to membership in the National Guard or armed forces. Eligible service members must be granted leave without loss of status or seniority when ordered to active or inactive duty or service. An employer may elect to pay an employee the difference between the employee s regular pay and military pay.

105 Employee Leave Laws - Overview COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Oklahoma employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate federal or state leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

106 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Oregon has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Search and rescue volunteer leave; Volunteer firefighter leave; State military service leave; Domestic violence leave; Family leave; Military family leave; and Sick time. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Oregon s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers must allow employees to take unpaid leave to respond to a summons for jury duty. An employer may not require an employee to use vacation, sick or annual leave for time spent responding to a jury summons. An employer is prohibited from discharging, threatening to discharge or intimidating any employee due to the employee s service or scheduled service as a juror. Search and Rescue Volunteer Leave An employer must allow an employee who is a search and rescue volunteer to take unpaid leave from work to participate in search and rescue activities. The employee must be reinstated to his or her position or an equivalent position without loss of seniority, vacation, sick leave, service credits under a pension plan or any other benefits the employee had earned at the time of the leave. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. 2015, 2017 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AMS 2/17 Volunteer Firefighter Leave Employees who are volunteer firefighters must be granted unpaid time off from work to perform their volunteer duties. Employees returning from volunteer service must be reinstated to their positions or equivalent positions without loss of seniority, vacation, sick leave, service credits under a pension plan or any other benefits the employees earned at the time of leave.

107 Employee Leave Laws-Overview State Active Service Leave An employer must grant an unpaid leave of absence to an employee who is called to active service as a member of the state organized militia or as a member of another state s organized militia. At the end of the employee s leave for active state service, the employee must: Resume regular employment within seven calendar days; and Be reinstated to his or her position or an equivalent position without the loss of seniority, vacation, sick leave, service credits under a pension plan or any other benefits the employee earned at the time of the leave. Domestic Violence Leave Employers with six or more employees in Oregon during 20 or more calendar workweeks in the year must grant eligible employees unpaid time off from work to address domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking. An eligible employee is one who is a victim of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking, or is the parent or guardian of a minor child who is a victim of those crimes. An employer must grant an eligible employee reasonable time off from work (including intermittent and reduced schedule leave) for the following purposes as a result of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking: To seek legal or law enforcement assistance, including protective order proceedings or other legal proceedings; To seek medical treatment for injuries to the employee or the employee s minor child or dependent; To obtain counseling from a licensed mental health professional; To obtain services from a victim services provider; or To relocate or take steps to secure an existing home to ensure the health and safety of the employee or the employee s minor child or dependent. Eligible employees must give their employers reasonable notice of their intentions to take leave for the above purposes, unless notice is not feasible. Employers may request documentation (police reports, protective orders, documentation from professionals, etc.) to verify employee leave. An eligible employee may substitute vacation, accrued sick leave or other available paid leave offered by the employer in lieu of the unpaid leave. However, when more than one type of paid leave is available, the employer may designate the order in which accrued paid leave may be used. An employer may not discharge, threaten to discharge, demote, suspend or discriminate, or retaliate in any manner against an eligible employee who takes leave for the above purposes. An employer also cannot discriminate against a qualified individual in hiring practices because the individual is a victim of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking. Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) Employers with 25 or more employees in Oregon are required to provide eligible employees with family and medical leave. To be eligible for leave, an employee must have worked for a covered employer for at least 180 days and averaged at least 25 hours per week during the 180 days prior to the leave. An eligible employee may take family leave to: Care for an infant or newly adopted child under 18 years old, or for a newly placed foster child under 18 (or child older than 18 if the child has a mental or physical disability). Leave must be taken within 12 months after the birth or placement of a child; Care for a family member with a serious health condition; 2

108 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Recover from or seek treatment for a serious health condition of the employee that renders the employee unable to perform at least one essential function of the employee s position; To care for a child of the employee who has an illness, injury or condition that is not a serious health condition but does require home care; and/or To grieve the death of a family member (two weeks of leave is offered), attend the funeral or alternative to a funeral or make arrangements necessitated by the death. Leave must be taken within 60 days of the employee being notified of a family member s death. Employees are generally entitled up to a total of 12 weeks of family leave within any one-year period, except in situations where shorter lengths of leave are outlined. Women taking any pregnancy disability leave are allowed an additional 12 weeks for any OFLA purpose. Either parent who has taken a full 12 weeks of parental leave is also entitled to take an additional 12 weeks of leave to care for a child with a non-serious health condition requiring home care. Employees must provide their employers with 30 days advance written notice, unless it is not practical to do so. Employers may require medical certification to support the need for leave in most situations. Leave is unpaid, however, employees must be permitted to use any accrued paid leave. In addition, an employer may require that an employee exhaust all accrued paid leave prior to taking some or all of the family leave as unpaid, and may dictate the order in which the leave is to be used. Employees returning from leave must be restored to their former positions (or equivalent positions, if former positions have been eliminated). Employees may not lose any employment benefits accrued prior to the leave. Effective Jan. 1, 2016, the OFLA explicitly requires the continuation of group health coverage on the same terms and conditions while an employee is on family leave. Employers with 50 or more employees are also subject to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). When an employee leave is covered by just one law, either the FMLA or OFLA, then the provisions of the applicable law apply. When an employee leave is covered by both the FMLA and OFLA, employers must apply the provisions of federal or state law that are more generous to employees. Leave taken under the FMLA counts as OFLA leave (if employee is eligible for OFLA leave). Oregon Military Family Leave Act (OMFLA) Employers with 25 or more employees in Oregon must provide eligible employees with up to 14 days of unpaid protected military family leave when an employee s spouse or same-sex domestic partner is called to active duty or is impending leave from deployment during a period of military conflict. To be eligible, an employee must have been employed for 180 days immediately preceding the leave and have worked at least an average of 25 hours per week during the 180-day period. An eligible employee is entitled to take OMFLA leave if his or her spouse is a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, National Guard or military reserves and has an impending call to active duty or is impending leave from deployment. Leave must be granted per deployment and may be used before and/or during leave from deployment. An employer may not deny leave or discriminate against a spouse for requesting leave under the OMFLA. An employee must provide his or her employer with notice of the intention to take leave within five business days of receiving official notice of an impending call to duty or leave from deployment. An employee may elect to substitute accrued paid leave in lieu of the unpaid leave under the OMFLA. Leave taken under the OMFLA may be included in the total amount of leave authorized under the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) if the employee is also eligible for OFLA leave. Employers with 50 or more employees are also subject to the FMLA. Where an employee s need for OMFLA leave is also covered by the Qualifying 3

109 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Exigency entitlements of the FMLA, the employer may run OMFLA and FMLA leave concurrently. Sick Time Employers must allow employees to earn and use up to 40 hours of sick leave per year. For employers with 10 or more employees, this leave must be paid. For employers with fewer than 10 employees, sick leave may be unpaid. Employees earn a minimum of one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked (or 1 1/3 hours of sick time for every 40 hours worked), up to a maximum of 40 hours per year. In addition, employees must be able to carry over up to 40 hours of unused sick time from one year to the next. An employee begins to accrue sick time on the first day of employment. An employer may restrict the use of accrued sick time until an employee s 91st day of employment. In addition, an employer may limit employees sick time accrual to 80 hours, and may restrict employee use of sick time to 40 hours per year. An employer may choose any consecutive 12-month period for purposes of compliance. An employer may choose to front-load employees with the full 40 hours of sick time as soon as they are eligible to use leave. An employer who chooses to front-load employee sick time does not need to comply with the accrual and carry over requirements. Sick time may be used: For the employee s mental or physical illness, injury or health condition or the employee s need for medical diagnosis, care or treatment, or preventive medical care; For the care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition or care for a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care or treatment, or preventive medical care; To care for an infant or newly adopted child; To deal with the death of a family member by attending the funeral, making arrangements or grieving; To seek legal or law enforcement assistance to ensure the health and safety of the employee or the employee s minor child; To obtain services from a victim services provider or to relocate because the employee or the employee s minor child are victims of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking; and For the closure of the employee s place of business, or the school or place of care of the employee s child. In addition, if the employer policy permits it, an employee may donate accrued sick time to a co-worker for one of the reasons specified above. An employee may also use sick time for any reason permitted under the OFLA, even if the employer is not covered by the OFLA or the employee is not eligible for OFLA leave. When possible and if the need for leave is foreseeable, employers may require advance notice of the employee s intention to use sick time, up to 10 days prior (or as soon as otherwise practicable). In addition, employees must make a reasonable attempt to schedule sick time in a manner that does not unduly disrupt the employer s operations. If an employee takes more than three consecutive workdays of sick time, an employer may require verification from a health care provider of the need for leave. 4

110 Employee Leave Laws-Overview SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous cities and counties across the country have enacted local ordinances that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer that is located in a city or county with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Oregon employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate federal or state leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 5

111 Provided by A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Pennsylvania has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Judicial witness/crime victims leave; Emergency response leave; Military leave; State of emergency leave; and Pregnancy and child care leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Pennsylvania s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave Judicial Witness/Crime Victims Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers must provide unpaid leave to employees summoned to jury duty. This law does not apply to: Retail or service industry employers with fewer than 15 employees; and Manufacturing industry employers with fewer than 40 employees. Job protections apply. Employers must provide unpaid leave to employees who take time off from work to attend court as: Victims of a crime; Witnesses to a crime; or Members of a crime victim s family. Job protections apply. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. 2012, 2014, Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. Rev. 3/17 Emergency Response Leave Employers must allow employees who are volunteer firefighters, volunteer fire police officers or volunteer members of an ambulance service or rescue squad to be late for or absent from work if they responded to an emergency before their work day started, if certification requirements are met. Job protections apply.

112 Employee Leave Laws Overview Military Leave State of Emergency Leave Pregnancy and Child care Leave In addition to USERRA, Pennsylvania law provides the following job protections for military members: Re-employment rights for members of the Pennsylvania National Guard or any Reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces following emergency or other military duty; Discrimination protections for members of the National Guard or any Reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces or employees who are called or ordered to active state or federal duty; and Extension of benefits during military duty. Employers cannot terminate or discipline an employee for failing to report to work because of a road closure in the county where the employee lives or works due to a state of emergency declared by the governor. This law does not apply to certain employees in specific industries. Leave is unpaid. Job protections apply. Nondiscrimination requirements apply to employers with four or more employees. Female employees of covered employers who are affected by childbirth or related medical conditions must be treated the same for all employment-related purposes as other persons not affected by pregnancy, but similar in their ability or inability to work. Child care leave, which includes birth and adoption, must be provided equally to both male and female employees. Organ or Bone Marrow Donation Leave Tax Credits Eligible Pennsylvania employers that provide employees with one or more periods of paid leave for organ or bone marrow donation qualify for a tax credit. A leave period consists of up to five working days per employee. If an employee uses annual leave or sick days, the employer may not count this time as a period of paid leave for the tax credit. Employers that earned tax credits and did not use them for the taxable year in which a paid leave was provided may carry over the credits for three taxable years. Tax credits are not refundable and may not be applied against preceding taxable years. The current law applies to taxable years beginning on or after Dec. 31, SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous local ordinances have been enacted across the country that mandate employers to provide employees with paid sick leave. An employer located in a city or county with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Pennsylvania employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: 2

113 Employee Leave Laws Overview Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 3

114 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Rhode Island has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Holiday and Sunday leave; School involvement leave; Military leave; Family military leave; Parental and family medical leave; and Pregnancy accommodation leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Rhode Island s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave Holiday and Sunday Leave REQUIREMENTS An employer may not terminate or cause an employee to lose wage increases, promotions, longevity benefit or any other payment due to him or her because he or she was called for jury duty. Leave is unpaid. Employers must pay employees one and one-half times the normal rate of pay for work on Sundays and holidays (New Year s Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Victory Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas). An employee may refuse to work on a Sunday or a holiday. Refusal may not be grounds for discharge or other penalty. Exemptions apply to manufacturing, limousine/taxi and car rental employers. School Involvement Leave Employers with 50 or more employees must provide eligible employees with 10 hours of unpaid school involvement leave during any 12-month period. To be eligible, an employee must be employed for 12 consecutive months and provide 24 hours notice of the leave. Leave may be used to attend school conferences or other school-related activities for the employee s child. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. 2015, 2017 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. AS 6/17

115 Employee Leave Laws-Overview Military Leave Family Military Leave In addition to USERRA, Rhode Island provides job protections to members of the state military forces, National Guard and U.S. military reserves. Military members must be provided unpaid leave for military service or training. An employee who requests reinstatement within 40 days after completing military duties must be restored to his or her previous position (or a position of the same status, pay and seniority). An employer with 15 or more employees must provide unpaid leave to an eligible employee who is the spouse or parent of a person called to military service lasting longer than 30 days. To be eligible, an employee must be employed for at least 12 consecutive months and have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period preceding the leave. Employers who employ between 15 and 50 employees must provide up to 15 days of leave during the time federal or state orders are in effect. Employers who employ more than 50 employees must provide up to 30 days of leave during the time federal or state orders are in effect. An employee must exhaust all accrued vacation, personal leave, compensatory leave and any other leave available (except sick and disability leave) before taking family military leave. Employees seeking five or more days of leave must provide their employers with at least 14 days notice. Employees seeking leave for less than five days must give notice as soon as practicable. An employee on family military leave must be able to continue his or her benefits at his or her own expense. Parental and Family Medical Leave Pregnancy Accommodation Employers with 50 or more employees must provide eligible employees with parental and family medical leave. To be eligible, an employee must work an average of 30 or more hours per week and have been employed for at least 12 consecutive months. An eligible employee is entitled to 13 consecutive workweeks of unpaid leave in any two calendar years for: The birth of the employee s child; The placement of a child who is 16 years old or under with the employee for adoption; or The serious illness of a family member (including a parent, spouse, child, parent-in-law or the employee). Any employer that allows sick time or sick leave to be used after the birth of a child must allow the same time to be used for the placement of a child who is 16 years of age or under with an employee for adoption. Employers may request that an employee provide written certification from a physician specifying the probable duration of leave. Employee notice and reinstatement rights apply. In addition, an employer must maintain existing health benefits for the duration of leave as if the employee had continued working from the date of leave until the date of return. Prior to the leave, the employee must pay to the employer the amount of the premium required to maintain health benefits during the leave. The employer must return the payment to the employee within 10 days following the employee s return. Rhode Island s Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA) was amended to require employers with four or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations to 2

116 Employee Leave Laws-Overview employees or applicants affected by pregnancy. Under the law, a covered employer must provide an employee with time off to recover from childbirth, if requested by the employee. The amount of time off that would be considered reasonable is not specified under the law. However, an employer may not require a pregnant employee to take leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided. Covered employers must provide written notice of the law to current employees and to new hires during initial employment. In addition, an employer must provide the notice within 10 days to any employee who notifies the employer she is pregnant. SPECIAL NOTE: Rhode Island provides a state-run temporary disability insurance (TDI) program funded entirely by employee payroll deductions. The TDI program provides income support to individuals out of work for non-work-related illness or injury. Employers are required to deduct the TDI tax from employees wages and send it to the Employer Tax Unit on a quarterly basis. Employers are also required to post a notice for employees in the workplace. More information can be found at the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training website. Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous local ordinances have been enacted across the country that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer that is located in a city or county with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Rhode Island employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate federal or state leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 3

117 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws-Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, South Carolina has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Military leave; and Bone marrow donation leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of South Carolina s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave Military Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers are prohibited from dismissing or demoting an employee for complying with a subpoena to testify in a court proceeding or to serve on a jury. In addition to the federal law USERRA, South Carolina law provides the following job protections for members of the National Guard or State Guard: An employer may not deprive or obstruct employment in any way to a member of the National Guard due to the individual s status as a member of the National Guard. Reemployment rights to the employee s previous position or to a position of like seniority, status and salary upon honorable release from state duty. An employee must apply for reemployment within five days following release from duty (or from hospitalization after release). If an employee is no longer qualified for his or her previous employment, the employee must be placed in another position for which he or she is qualified and will provide appropriate seniority, status and salary. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. 2015, 2017 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. 1/15; AMS 2/17 Bone Marrow Leave While not required by law, South Carolina provides that employers with 20 or more employees may provide eligible employees with paid leave to donate bone marrow. To be eligible, an employee must work an average of 20 or more hours per week for the employer. The combined length of paid leaves may not exceed 40 work hours, unless the employer agrees. Employers may require verification by a physician regarding the purpose and length of each paid leave requested by the employee to donate bone marrow.

118 Employee Leave Laws-Overview SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that the information in the above chart focuses on statewide laws. Employers must be aware that numerous local ordinances have been enacted across the country that mandate employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. An employer that is located in a city or county with a local paid sick leave law must generally comply with the local ordinance and statewide law, if applicable. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for South Carolina employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

119 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, South Dakota has employee leave laws regarding: Voting leave; Jury duty leave; Leave for legislative service; and Military leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of South Dakota s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Voting Leave REQUIREMENTS An employer must provide employees with up to two hours of paid leave to vote in any primary or general election on election day. The employer may specify the hours an employee may take leave to vote. However, an employee is not eligible for voting leave if his or her work schedule allows for two consecutive hours during the time the polls are open. Jury Duty Leave Leave for Legislative Service Military Leave An employer must provide leave to an employee to serve as a juror without loss of job status, pay or seniority. Leave may be paid or unpaid, at the discretion of the employer. Employers may not discharge or suspend employees for serving as a juror. An employer must grant leave to any employee who is a member of the Legislature, without loss of job status or seniority. Leave may be paid or unpaid. An employer may not attempt to restrict an employee s right to serve in the Legislature. In addition to the federal USERRA, South Dakota provides similar protections to members of the National Guard who are called to active state or federal duty. An employer must grant unpaid leave to state military members, and must reinstate the employee to his or her original position upon release from duty. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for South Dakota employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such 2015 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. Rev. 1/17

120 Employee Leave Laws Overview leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 2

121 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Tennessee has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty leave; Voting leave; Volunteer firefighter leave; Volunteer rescue squad leave; Military leave; and Maternity leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Tennessee s employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers with five or more employees must provide paid leave to eligible employees summoned to jury duty. Notice requirements apply. Leave is paid, although employers may deduct any payment employees receive for the jury service. The following employees are entitled to jury duty leave: Permanent employees; and Temporary employees who have been employed for at least six months. Employers may not discharge an employee for taking jury duty leave. Voting Leave Employees may be absent from work for a reasonable amount of time, up to three hours, to vote, unless the polls are open for at least three consecutive hours outside of the employee s work hours. Employees must request leave to vote before noon on the day before the election. Leave is paid if it occurs during the employee s normal working hours. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. Employers must provide unpaid leave for employees who are serving as part-time voting machine technicians. 2012, 2015 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. 10/13; AMS 12/16

122 Employee Leave Laws Overview Volunteer Firefighter Leave Employers must provide paid leave to an employee who is a volunteer firefighter and who responds to a fire call. Notice and certification requirements apply. Employers may not terminate an employee who is a volunteer firefighter and who is late for or absent from work because he or she responds to an emergency. Volunteer Rescue Squad Leave Military Leave Maternity Leave Employers must allow employees to be late for or absent from work if they are volunteer rescue squad members who responded to an emergency that occurred outside of the employee s normal work hours. Certification requirements apply. Leave is unpaid. In addition to USERRA, Tennessee law provides employment protections for Tennessee National Guard members. Employers are prohibited from terminating or refusing to hire an employee because of his or her membership in the Tennessee National Guard. In addition, employers may not terminate a National Guard member because of absence from work while attending any prescribed drill, including annual field training. Employers with 100 or more full-time, permanent employees must provide eligible employees with maternity leave. Eligible employees may take up to four months of leave for: Adoption; Pregnancy; Childbirth; or Nursing an infant. To be eligible for maternity leave under the Tennessee law, an employee must have been employed full-time for at least 12 consecutive months. An eligible employee must give at least three months advance notice of his or her anticipated date of departure, length of leave and intention to return to full-time employment after leave, unless notice is not possible. Leave may be paid or unpaid, at the discretion of the employer. Job protections apply to employees taking maternity leave. Covered employers must include the maternity leave requirements in all employee handbooks. Employers with 50 or more employees are also subject to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). When an employee leave is covered by just one law, either the FMLA or TMLA, then the provisions of the applicable law apply. When a leave is covered by both the FMLA and TMLA, employers must apply the provisions of federal and state law that are more generous to employees. 2

123 Employee Leave Laws Overview COMPLIANCE STEPS It is important for Tennessee employers to understand when their employees are entitled to take time off from work, and the legal protections associated with such leaves. Employers that violate state or federal leave law requirements may be subject to government investigations, fines, employee lawsuits and significant penalties, fees and damage awards. To minimize these risks, employers should review applicable federal and state leave law requirements and determine whether they have any compliance gaps to correct. This compliance review may be complex, especially in areas where federal and state leave laws overlap. As part of the compliance review, employers should confirm that: Employee handbooks and written policies and procedures have been updated to accurately describe employee leaves; Human resources personnel, as well as managers and supervisors, are educated on how to administer employee leaves and receive ongoing training; Employee leaves are administered on a consistent basis, and employees are educated on leave rights and requirements; Recordkeeping systems accurately track and document employee leaves; and Required notices and posters regarding leave laws are provided. 3

124 Provided By A Plus Benefits Employee Leave Laws Overview Employers may provide their employees with various types of paid or unpaid leave as part of their overall compensation packages, including vacation time, personal leave and sick leave. Employers have some flexibility when it comes to establishing or negotiating employee leave policies. However, federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) require covered employers to provide employees with leave in certain situations. In addition to federal leave laws, Texas has employee leave laws regarding: Jury duty and court attendance leave; Military leave; Voting and convention leave; and Emergency evacuation leave. This Employment Law Summary includes a chart that provides a high-level overview of Texas employee leave laws and suggests compliance steps for employers. OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE LEAVE LAWS TYPE OF LEAVE Jury Duty/Court Attendance Leave Military Leave Voting and Convention Leave REQUIREMENTS Employers must provide unpaid leave to employees summoned to jury duty. Job protections apply to employees taking jury duty leave. Employers may not punish or penalize employees for taking time off from work to comply with a valid subpoena to appear in court. In addition to USERRA, Texas law provides the following job protections for state military members: Reemployment rights (without loss of time, efficiency rating, vacation time or any benefit of employment) following a period of state military service; and The same benefits and protections provided to U.S. military members by USERRA. Employees may be absent from work for a reasonable amount of time to vote (at least two hours), unless the polls are open for at least two consecutive hours outside of the employee s work hours. This guide is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. It broadly summarizes state statutes and regulations generally applicable to private employers, but does not include references to other legal resources unless specifically noted. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. Voting leave is paid if the time cuts into the employee s normal working hours. Employers may designate the time the employee will be off to vote, as long as the time is reasonable and sufficient to allow the employee to vote. Employees may be absent from work to attend a state or local political convention. Convention leave is unpaid , 2016 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved. BK 10/13; AS 10/16